Wherever We Are
by Meepalicious
Summary: Sequel to "Of UNO and Thunderstorms" in which the lives and (mis)adventures Of Kate, Francesca, Natalie and Olympia are detailed. I recommend you read "Of UNO and Thunderstorms" first, otherwise this will make absolutely no sense.
1. Chapter 1

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LORD OF THE RINGS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I REFERENCE! NATALIE AND FRANCESCA OWN THEMSELVES RESPECTIVELY! I ONLY OWN MYSELF AND MY OCS!**

Chapter One

Olympia's POV

The guests who had come for Aragorn's coronation stayed for a while. It made sense seeing as Aragorn and Arwen were married a week after the coronation. Another feast was put together and another party had.

A few days later, I found myself on the training grounds of Minas Tirith with King Thranduil, Tawarthion, Veryan, all of the Fellowship except Aragorn, and a small crowd of others. I'd chosen that day to make good on my promise to show King Thranduil my Jiu Jitsu and apparently word got around. Nearly every elf who had come to Gondor, along with Cellyn, Eowyn, Faramir and Éomer were also watching on the sidelines.

"Way to draw a crowd Olympia." Natalie commented as she, Kate and I stood on the training grounds looking around at the crowd. I shrugged.

"It's just like a Shiai. Or…at least that's what I'm telling myself to keep from having a panic attack." I replied. Kate smiled.

"Showoff." My sister commented. I grinned at her.

"You know it." I stated.

Kate went to Gibbs slap me, but I turned around and blocked it. Kate raised an eyebrow and I fanned the strike down and twisted her wrist away from her. She took an aerial fall and all the sideline chatter that had been going on stopped.

Natalie laughed and Kate got up just as Natalie and I started sparring. I did my best to ignore the fact that everyone was watching me and focus on what I was doing. That said, I could feel King Thranduil's eyes on me the whole time. _That's really creepy. _I thought as I took note of that.

Kate and Natalie helped me show off for a bit. We sparred and Kate let me practice judo throws on her, seeing as judo throws were not Natalie's forte. Once that was done, Legolas motioned for us to join him, his father and his brothers. The three of us walked over to where they had been watching.

"Legolas was right. That was quite impressive." King Thranduil commented. I smiled politely and thanked him. _Haha! Win! I freaking win! _I thought.

"I am intrigued. Do you think you could show Tawarthion and I how to do some of that?" Veryan asked. _Hmm. Now there's an idea…._I mused.

"Maybe." I told him. Tawarthion smiled and nodded and Veryan laughed.

Kate, Francesca, Natalie and I spent the rest of the day with Cellyn. We hadn't seen much of him in the last few days. The five of us wandered into the gardens and sat there together. Cellyn seemed a bit nervous. It seemed like there was something on his mind that was bothering him. Odd, for such a usually bubbly cheerful kid.

"Cellyn, what's wrong? You seem on edge." I asked. All eyes turned to the Rohirric kid and Cellyn shifted slightly.

"What will you do now that the war is over, my friends? Soon, King Éomer and the rest of the Rohirrim will return to Rohan, and I with them." Cellyn said eventually. Kate sighed and Francesca, Natalie and I all exchanged looks. After King Theoden's death, Éomer had been made King of Rohan.

"We're all going to different places, Cellyn. Olympia's going to Mirkwood with Legolas, I'm going with them to make sure my sister gets settled alright then I'm going to Rivendell, Natalie will stay in Gondor so you can see her sometimes, and Francesca's going to the Shire with the other Hobbits." Kate told him. Cellyn looked sad, but he nodded in understanding. I felt terrible and I wanted to hug to kid.

"You will write to me often, will you not?" Cellyn asked.

"Of course we'll write! We'll all write to each other all the time and we'll visit whenever we can. How does that sound?" I replied. Cellyn's face brightened a bit.

"It sounds as though we have a deal, Olympia!" he exclaimed.

We all grinned. _Good! I guess I'll be writing a lot…Hmm. I hope Cellyn will be able to decipher my god-awful handwriting. _I thought. Truly, my penmanship sucked. We sat and talked together until dinner.

Legolas asked me to sit with him and his family at dinner as we had been all that week. I accepted and decided to drag Kate with me. She sat next to me and Legolas sat on my other side.

The conversation mainly focused on mine and Kate's lives before the Fellowship landed in our living room. It was interesting to say the least. Especially so when we had to explain the American government to King Thranduil. There were a lot of questions from Legolas's brothers, mainly Veryan, about our family, which led to the telling of some stories I hadn't told or thought about in a long time.

"We saw each other a lot. Both of dad's sisters lived within walking distance of our house and our paternal grandparents lived a short drive away. Sometimes it was great but when you see someone too much they can…." Kate trailed off, looking for a phrase.

"Test one's patience, perhaps?" King Thranduil supplied. Kate nodded furiously.

"Yes. Very much so actually." She commented. _Amen to that. _I thought, almost bitterly.

"Emily and I particularly would butt heads a lot. We were the closest in age and had radically different opinions on most issues. Uh, we talked about high school hierarchy with you, yes?" I asked. King Thranduil, Tawarthion and Veryan nodded.

"Emily and Olympia, in addition to seeing each other all the time at family functions, attended the same high school." Kate started, pausing when everyone except King Thranduil winced slightly. "Yeah. Olympia was classified as a nerd or bookworm by the usual standards of high school hierarchy, but she didn't care because everyone at school is an _idiot_. Olympia and Francesca, who also went to their high school, usually kept to themselves. Emily was always trying to get in the good graces, if you will, of the popular crowd, who are all morons. To do so, she would occasionally talk smack about Olympia's friends. Essentially, she was changing herself to fit the standards of our twisted and corrupt society. Obviously that didn't sit well with Olympia, as you can tell by the way her eye is twitching at the mention of the subject." Kate explained. I narrowed my eyes at my sister. The others at the table nodded. For the rest of dinner, the subject of our family was avoided as much as possible.

~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~

Far too soon for anyone's liking, the day came for the Fellowship of the Ring to part ways for a while. Kate, Natalie, Francesca and I all packed up our stuff mournfully and in silence. As we left, I took one last look at the room. _This is the closest thing I've got to a home in Middle Earth…I've stayed here for longer than we stayed anywhere else, except for Lothlórien. _I thought.

Kate and I packed our stuff onto Braylla and Arya and stood with King Thranduil, Tawarthion, Legolas and Veryan with their horses and moose-elk. Éomer had told us we could keep the horses when we tried to give them back to him.

Aragorn and Arwen had come to see everyone off. Most of the good-byes were sad, though not painfully so. Then the time came to say good-bye to the Fellowship…and my two closest friends. I saved the good-byes to Natalie and Francesca for last; those were the most emotional for me.

"Write to me as soon as you get to Mirkwood, okay?" Natalie whispered when I hugged her. I nodded. "Also, not that I hope you have to, but kill some man-eating spiders for me if you get the chance." She added. I almost broke down on the spot. _I completely forgot about the giant man-eating spiders in Mirkwood. _I realized.

"Yeah. Okay. Good-bye Germany." I murmured, biting back the tears that had welled up in my eyes.

"Don't cry. Please. If you cry, then I'll cry and then none of us will get out of here." Natalie stated. I nodded, hugged her tighter for a moment, then let go.

"I'll write to you when I get to the Shire. Also, I want to know when the wedding is going to be." Francesca told me when I knelt down to hug her. I Gibbs slapped her and she laughed. "I love you, Prussia. You're my best friend." She whispered.

"I love you too, Francey Pants. You're the freakin' best." I mumbled. Kate said her tearful good-byes as well and then we left.

I looked back a few times as we rode across the plains. _One stage of your journey is over. Another begins. _I thought, remembering how Gandalf had said those exact words when he came back to us in Rohan. I almost laughed as I figured how true those words were at that moment.

**Author's Note: Welcome to 'Wherever We Are'…*ducks to avoid having things thrown at me for the Bon Jovi song quote* Sorry, I had to. Anyways, this is the first chapter of the story that will detail the lives of our four heroines after the War of the Ring. *smiles evilly* And trust me when I say I still have a trick or two up my sleeve. Updates for this won't be extremely frequent, but they won't be extremely far between either. So…READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	2. Chapter 2

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LORD OF THE RINGS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I REFERENCE! NATALIE AND FRANCESCA OWN THEMSELVES RESPECTIVELY! I ONLY OWN MYSELF AND MY OCS! **

Chapter Two

Natalie's POV

I stood at the gates of Minas Tirith until the figures of everyone who'd left that day were nothing but dark blobs on the horizon. Aragorn and Arwen had stood there with me, somehow understanding how I felt. After a while Aragorn put his hand on my shoulder.

"It saddens me to see them leave as well, Natalie. But it is not good-bye forever. We will see them again." Aragorn told me. I smiled slightly, still trying not to cry.

"I know. But that won't be for a while yet. Growing up, I saw them all the time. I'm worried for Olympia and Kate, because Kate is going to go to Rivendell and Olympia's going to stay in Mirkwood. Kate and Olympia have always been together and I don't know what any of us are going to do. Kate's always been there for us, like a voice of reason and an emotional rock." I rambled. Aragorn nodded.

"Natalie you know that your friends will always be there when you need them. I believe that they would come from all four corners of this earth to help you if you do need them." Aragorn told me. _Why does he have to give such damn good advice? _I wondered.

"Aragorn and I will be here for you as well, Natalie. You can come to me should you need a friend to talk to." Arwen added, coming to stand on my other side. _And somehow it doesn't surprise me anymore that she and Kate were such fast friends. Granted, all four of us were pretty fast friends with Arwen, but Kate especially. _I thought.

"Thanks. Really, this means a lot to me, especially now." I told them. Both Aragorn and Arwen smiled at me. I resisted the sudden urge to hug them.

"Come. We must find you a permanent place to stay, if you will remain in Gondor." Aragorn said after a while. I nodded and the three of us walked back up towards where Aragorn and Arwen, and all the chief advisors and warriors lived. I looked at the both of them, suddenly very confused.

"Aragorn and I agree that you would make a very good chief advisor in the court." Arwen stated in response to my look. I felt my eyes bug out of my head. _That is really awesome. _I thought.

"Indeed. You are already a very good warrior and the way I have seen you handle yourself in times of great danger along with your quick wits have convinced me of your potential to give sound advice." Aragorn added. I nodded slowly.

"Thank you. Again! This is really, really nice of you." I told them, not knowing what to say. Arwen laughed a little and then showed me to my rooms.

There was something that looked like a living room of sorts when you first walked into the rooms. It had some comfortable looking chairs and a couch of sorts. Then there was the bedroom and connected bathroom of sorts, a small kitchen like area and a dining room with a small-ish table and some chairs. _And this is all mine?! Sweet! _I thought.

"I love it." I said to Arwen, who was standing in the living room and smiling after we looked around the place. She smiled.

"I am glad." She replied. Seeing as we were technically in my house now and the door was shut, I turned around and gave Arwen a hug. She laughed and hugged me back.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"You are most welcome." She whispered back. We sat down on the couch and talked for a while. Afterwards, Arwen told me that it was nearly time for dinner.

As we made our way to the great hall, Arwen explained that we were meeting with the few other advisors, the Captain of the Guard, and Faramir, who had been named the Steward, sometime in the next few days. I nodded. After dinner, I went back to my rooms and went to sleep.

*Olympia's POV*

Not long after leaving Minas Tirith, we started following the river Anduin north. Apparently, we would be following the river north, past Lothlórien to the Forest Gates of Mirkwood, then following the elven road through the forest to King Thranduil's Halls in the north eastern corner. At least, that's what I'd been told.

We passed the Falls of Rauros a few days after leaving Gondor. I couldn't help but think of Boromir. The fact that Legolas and Kate suddenly fell quiet told me they were thinking of our fallen friend as well. King Thranduil, Tawarthion and Veryan seemed to notice our sudden mood swing.

"What ails you, brother?" Tawarthion asked, stopping his horse and waiting for Legolas.

"We passed through here with the Fellowship. We were ambushed by Saruman's Uruk Hai and Boromir was killed." Legolas answered.

"This is where we laid him to rest." Kate stated, staring at the waterfall. I nodded. King Thranduil, Tawarthion and Veryan nodded in understanding and it was quiet for the rest of the day.

That night we set up camp in the forests nearby. We'd found a small clearing in the trees to camp and let our horses (and moose-elk) roam for a while. We lit a fire and ate some of the food Aragorn and Arwen had given us for the journey. Between all of us, we had tons of lembas, but we were saving that.

"Olympia, would you be willing to show me some of your self-defense techniques now?" Veryan asked after we ate. I glanced at Kate and we both grinned, standing up.

"Sure! Anyone else?" I replied. Tawarthion and Legolas also stood up. King Thranduil sat near the fire and watched intently.

"Legolas? Olympia has not taught you this yet?" Veryan teased.

"No. She has not. Though I have learned some from watching her, Kate and Natalie." Legolas replied. Tawarthion rolled his eyes a bit and chuckled.

"We haven't taught anyone Spanish yet either." Kate commented. King Thranduil raised an eyebrow.

"Would I be correct in assuming that this Spanish is the language you spoke when explaining to us that you are of another world?" he asked. I glanced and Kate and we both nodded. I then turned to my sister.

"Pero, no quiero enseñar Español a ellos. Me gusta hablando un idioma que ellos no entienden." (But, I don't want to teach them Spanish. I like speaking a language they don't understand) I stated. Kate laughed and everyone else just stared.

"Alright, anyway. I thought we were teaching them Jiu Jitsu." Kate changed the subject with a pointed look at me.

"Yes! We were!" Veryan urged.

"Jiu Jitsu is one of many different forms of martial arts. Kate, Natalie and I used to practice it a lot back home. But Kate had to stop going to the classes because she had a lot of other stuff to do. This particular form of martial arts doesn't require a whole lot of physical strength because it's mainly about using the strength of your opponent against them." I explained.

"That said, physical strength comes in handy when trying to hit your opponent because obviously, the harder you hit, the more it hurts them." Kate added. Tawarthion, Legolas and Veryan nodded in understanding.

"What should we start with?" I asked Kate. Kate screwed her lip to the side and made a face, thinking.

"Let's do some of the beginner stuff first." Kate replied. I nodded.

We spent a little while teaching them some of the easier techniques, along with basic blocks and strikes. After who-knows-how-long with those, they had gotten pretty good and we started moving on. Soon, the three were able to do the basic blocks, hand strikes, kicks and some of the easier wrist locks.

Then, of course, there was the request for Kate and I to do some of the more advanced, and therefore so much more interesting, techniques. Kate and I agreed and showed off some of the judo throws, wrist locks and throws, and other advanced techniques we'd learned in the adult classes.

"Do you want to do more tomorrow?" Kate asked as we all sat down again by the fire.

"Yes!" Veryan replied enthusiastically. Tawarthion and Legolas also wanted to do more. We sat up for a while after that talking. After a while, everyone started to fall asleep and Legolas and I were the only ones awake.

"So what do you think of the Jiu Jitsu so far?" I asked Legolas. He put his arm around my shoulders and I scooted closer to him.

"I am very interested in this art you seem to be so passionate about, my love." Legolas replied. I nodded.

"I've been doing this since I was seven. That makes twelve years, seeing as I technically turned nineteen sometime during our quest. In my world human terms, that's a long time to be doing anything." I stated. Legolas nodded.

"When is your Begetting Day?" Legolas asked. I gave him a look. _What's a Begetting Day? _I wondered. "Elves believe that life begins at the moment a child is conceived. Therefore we celebrate the day one was begotten in much the same way mortals celebrate the day of birth." Legolas explained, seeing the 'WTF?' look I gave him.

"Oh. Well in that case, my Begetting Day is May 20th, because my date of birth is February 20th." I told him. Legolas furrowed his eyebrows. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing. I forgot for a moment that mortals carry children for nine months. Elves carry for a full year." Legolas told me. I internally winced at the thought of elf women being pregnant for a year. Legolas and I sat in silence for a while. _What other elvish traditions am I going to have to learn? _I wondered.

"What troubles you, my love?" Legolas asked.

"Okay, I'm seriously considering the possibility that you can read my mind. How is it that you always know when something bugs me?" I mumbled. Legolas chuckled.

"You bite your lip when you are troubled by something. You also stare off into nothing when you think deeply. Did you know that?" Legolas pointed out.

"No. I didn't. I'm just thinking about all the other elvish traditions I'm going to be learning." I told him.

"Do not worry about that, Olympia. We will teach you." Legolas told me. I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I love you, Legolas." I whispered.

"I love you as well, Olympia." Legolas replied. He brushed some hair out of my face and turned my chin up towards him. I smiled and leaned in to kiss him. Legolas wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back. I tangled my hands into Legolas's hair and we stayed like that until we ran out of breath.

"Meep." I stated as I curled up in my blankets next to Legolas. Legolas chuckled softly. "Good night Legolas." I whispered.

"Good night, meleth nîn." Legolas told me. I smiled to myself and went to sleep.

**Author's note: Meep! Return of the Fluff Obsession! So yeah, aside from that, I had this idea of Natalie being Aragorn's chief advisor. Though, I know in Middle Earth that's going to cause a lot of controversy because she's a girl. And an independent, sarcastic, stands-up-for-herself kind of girl at that. So I fully intend to explore the controversy and difference of beliefs and opinions with that scenario. I hope you all like that idea. Meep! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	3. Chapter 3

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LORD OF THE RINGS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I REFERENCE! NATALIE AND FRANCESCA OWN THEMSELVES RESPECTIVELY! I ONLY OWN MYSELF AND MY OCS! **

Chapter Three

Francesca's POV

Sam, Merry, Pippin, Frodo and I travelled with Lord Elrond and his people on our way back to the Shire. We were going in the same direction and we'd been invited to stay in Rivendell when we got there. Not much happened along the way, other than Merry and Pippin causing chaos. Occasionally they had help from Elladan and Elrohir. We'd taken the Gap of Rohan rather than crossing the Misty Mountains, it was easier seeing as we were on horses or ponies. Obviously, horses and ponies don't do mountains.

After crossing the mountains and passing through Isengard, which wasn't underwater anymore, we found the North-South Road and followed that to the river Bruinen. We then followed the river north-east to Rivendell.

One night, when we were about a day from Rivendell and had set up camp for the night I watched Merry, Pippin, Elladan and Elrohir all laughing and joking around. Lord Elrond, Lord Erestor and Glorfindel all looked pleasantly surprised. _Why is that? Is this something out of the ordinary for them? _I wondered.

I leaned over and poked Lord Erestor's arm seeing as he happened to be the closest one. Sam and Frodo were off to one side, talking to Lord Elrond, and Glorfindel, who had asked me not to call him 'Lord' on account of it making him feel old, was staring off into space.

"Lord Erestor, why do you seem so surprised that Elladan and Elrohir are having fun? Do they not do this often or…?" I asked. Lord Erestor smiled sadly.

"You are very observant, little one. Also, you need not call me 'Lord'. In answer to your first question, I _am_ surprised to see Elladan and Elrohir like this. You are right; it is rather out of the ordinary for them." He responded. I tilted my head to the side and tried not to be annoyed at being called 'little one'.

"Firstly, don't call me 'little one'. It makes me feel like a child. Why is having fun so out of character for them?" I asked. Erestor smiled slightly.

"Many people, elf, man and hobbit alike, seem like children to me. Admittedly, I am very old." Erestor stated. Glorfindel laughed, obviously having heard that. Erestor rolled his dark eyes. "You should not be laughing, mellon nîn. You are older than I am." Erestor told him. Glorfindel laughed a little more and came to sit next to Erestor.

"Really? I find that hard to believe. He doesn't usually act it." I stated before I could filter the thought. Erestor chuckled and Glorfindel tried to look offended, but laughed after a moment.

"How is it that you can believe that Erestor is old and that I am not?" Glorfindel asked, a slightly mischievous glint in his blue eyes. Erestor raised an eyebrow. "I believe she just implied that you act old and boring my friend." Glorfindel concluded. My eyes went wide.

"I didn't say that!" I exclaimed.

"On the contrary, I believe she called you juvenile Glorfindel." Erestor said, ignoring my comment. Glorfindel narrowed his eyes at the dark-haired elf next to him. The two proceeded to have an epic staring contest. I sat there, confused. Neither of them had answered my question yet. Glorfindel sniffed slightly after a moment and moved some of his golden-blond hair out of his face.

"Well then! As I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted…there is in fact a reason this care-free behavior has been so uncharacteristic of Elladan and Elrohir for so long." Erestor changed the subject back to my original question. I leaned in.

"Reason being….?" I prompted.

"A long time ago, Lady Celebrían, Elladan and Elrohir's mother, was captured and tortured by orcs in the Misty Mountains. Elladan and Elrohir, being fully grown, led the group that rescued her. Her wounds were healed by Lord Elrond, however the emotional scarring remained. Lady Celebrían sailed west to Valinor the next year. In addition to retreating into themselves and acting far older and more serious, Elladan and Elrohir have hated orcs with a burning passion ever since." Erestor explained. I was absolutely speechless. Glorfindel looked like he wanted to add something, but I waved him off.

_After that incident, they probably went numb for a while. I mean, when one thinks about it, they lost their mother __twice__. Once to the orcs, and again when she left. That kind of pain doesn't go away overnight. They were probably really bitter and shut off for a long time. I feel bad for them, and Arwen, and Lord Elrond. I'm glad they can all find happiness and open up now. _I mused.

"I'm glad they're happy now." I murmured. Erestor and Glorfindel both smiled a bit.

"You are a kind person, little one." Glorfindel told me, putting a hand on my shoulder. He laughed when I groaned at being called 'little one' again.

We all then turned back to watching Merry, Pippin, Elladan and Elrohir again. Pippin and Elrohir were, at the moment, wrestling in the clearing we'd made camp in. I noticed Erestor raise an eyebrow in a Middle Earth equivalent of a 'WTF?' face. Merry and Elladan were laughing on the side, trying not to get involved. That didn't last long.

"Merry! Help me!" Pippin called, laughing.

"No! You got yourself into this and I'm not–Hey!" Merry's argument was cut off when Pippin grabbed his collar and dragged him into the wrestling match. Elladan laughed loudly and nearly doubled over, drawing the attention of Sam, Frodo and Lord Elrond. Sam looked disapprovingly at Merry and Pippin, Frodo looked mildly amused, and Lord Elrond smiled broadly.

"You think this amusing, brother? Now I am the one in need of help!" Elrohir cried indignantly. Erestor chuckled and Glorfindel gave a mock-offended look. I laughed loudly.

"A great warrior such as yourself should be able to handle two little Halflings." Elladan said between fits of laughter.

"Have I taught you nothing?!" Glorfindel asked, pretending to be mad. He couldn't quite pull it off seeing as he couldn't quite wipe the smirk off his face.

Elrohir, who had pinned Merry down, was about to reply when Pippin tackled him from behind. The only sound the dark-haired, grey-eyed elf could manage sounded something like 'Oomph!' as he was tackled. This got even Erestor laughing. I had nearly doubled over with laughter and was leaning on Glorfindel for support.

"Francesca! Help me! This is not funny!" Pippin yelled. Elrohir had managed to pin him down and was now struggling to get Merry off his back while trying to keep Pippin pinned.

"Yes it is!" I argued. "And I'm not helping _you_." I replied, the beginnings of an idea forming in my mind. Glorfindel looked at me, probably guessing my idea, and laughed. Erestor shook his head slightly and the look on his face almost said 'Please don't'.

With no further warning, I got up and ran across the clearing to where the wrestling match was taking place. I jumped up and tackled Merry. The two of us fell off Elrohir's back and landed on the ground with a thud. Elladan continued to laugh, Sam and Erestor both gave heavy sighs, Lord Elrond and Frodo both chuckled, and Glorfindel started to laugh again.

"Hey! I thought you were on our side!" Merry protested as we started to wrestle.

"You thought wrong, I'm on his side." I argued, nodding to Elrohir, who was laughing as Pippin jumped at him again. Merry looked annoyed.

"Pippin! Get her! She's siding with Elrohir!" Merry shouted. I gave him an elbow to the stomach, shoved him off me seeing as he had pinned me down, and got up. Pippin then bear-hugged me from behind. I laughed. This was one of the techniques Olympia had taught me.

I took a deep breath, then bent my knees and stepped to the side. I pinned Pippin's arms to my chest and elbowed him in the gut. I then moved his arm over my head and put him in an arm-bar, taking him to the ground. I knelt on his arm, effectively pinning him to the ground. _Olympia would be proud, once she stopped laughing her ass off at the scenario._ I thought. Pippin groaned.

Merry, who had just gotten away from Elrohir, tried to tackle me again. Elrohir chuckled and grabbed the hobbit around his middle and quickly pinned him. I looked at Elrohir, then at Merry and Pippin, and grinned. Elrohir laughed.

"What say you, Francesca? Do we win?" he joked.

When we started the journey home, I'd asked everyone not to call me 'Lady'. To my immense happiness, they all complied, asking me not to call them 'Lord'. However, it felt awkward not to call Lord Elrond by his title, so I still referred to him as 'Lord'.

"We win!" I replied. "High five!" I stated, putting my hand up.

Elrohir stared at my hand for a second and I realized he didn't know what I was talking about. I blushed, slightly embarrassed. I then took Elrohir's wrist and touched our hands together.

"It's a high five. It's a gesture from my world that we use when people playing a game together win the game, or when they pass by each other as a greeting of sorts. It's an Earth thing." I explained. Elrohir nodded and laughed a little.

"That's all well and good, but you please get off me!" Pippin exclaimed. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, laughed at that. Elrohir and I got off Merry and Pippin and we all gathered around the fire, seeing as Sam had finished dinner.

~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~

We arrived in Rivendell the next day. All I could do was stare at everything in awe. _Yeah. The movies did this no justice at all. _I thought. The basic layout of the city was the same as it had been in the movies, but Rivendell was truly breathtaking in person. I blinked a few times as we crossed a bridge that had been built across the Bruinen into a courtyard of sorts.

There were a few elves waiting for us in the courtyard. Lord Elrond started talking to them in elvish and some of them came forward to take care of the ponies Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin and I had been riding. I nodded in thanks and awkwardly got off my pony.

"Welcome back, my lords. I trust you had a safe journey?" One of the elves, with dark brown, almost black hair, and brown eyes asked.

"Yes, Lindir. All went well." Lord Elrond replied. _Lindir…Lindir. I've heard that name somewhere before…But where? _I thought, wracking my brain for everything Olympia might have mentioned about him.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Sam nudging my elbow slightly. I looked at him, confused. He gave me a look and nodded to Lord Elrond and Lindir. Apparently, we were being introduced.

"Along their journey, the Fellowship had an interesting detour and a few new companions joined them. One of whom is Francesca Adams…" Lord Elrond stated, nodding to me. I smiled and waved awkwardly.

"It's nice to meet you, mister Lindir." I stated, not entirely comfortable with addressing everybody as 'Lord' but not wanting to seem rude.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Francesca." Lindir replied, bowing.

Lord Elrond then explained that we would all be given rooms to stay in while we were here. Lindir then led us through Rivendell to our guest rooms. I stared at everything. Rivendell was amazing. Much of the architecture consisted of white marble arches along the outer walls, making for hallways with mostly windows on the outer parts.

All of us were given rooms in the same hallway, right next to each other. The guest room was about the size of my living room at home. _Wow! This is huge! I never thought about how tiny I must seem to them now, especially because Elves are taller than the humans here. _I mused.

The wall opposite the door was mostly open out onto a balcony overlooking the gardens. There were off-white curtains in front of the opening. Upon exploring, I discovered a few comfortable looking chairs on the balcony outside. There was also a wooden wardrobe that had been stocked with some hobbit-sized and pretty simple dresses and one or two nightgowns. I didn't even want to think about how that happened. There was an adjoining bathroom of sorts and a vanity table with a mirror.

I flopped down on the bed and lay there. _And then from here, I think it'll only take a few days to get to the Shire. I think, according to the movie, it was about a week the first time. But they were walking the first time and we're on horseback…So it'll be faster. I wonder if Kate and Olympia are already in Mirkwood. I have to write to them when I get to the Shire. Where am I even going to stay when I get there? _I mused. I fell asleep with these thoughts in mind.

**Author's note: Okay, so here we have Francesca in Rivendell! And Elladan and Elrohir goofing off. The combined effect of Erestor's explanation and Francesca's thoughts is basically my headcanon for them. But I like to think that they can be goofy and happy sometimes, even if that is very rare, all things considered. We'll be seeing more of their healing from that when I write them, both in this story and in anything else I write pertaining to them…... Anyway! I've been getting a lot of questions about love interests for Francesca, Natalie and Kate. While I honestly have no ideas for the first two, I have a plan for Kate! I don't want to tell you outright, but I'll give you some hints. Whoever guesses correctly first shall get a prize…that I have not determined yet! I'll PM the winner and we'll figure it out. Hint the First; he had a brief appearance in the first Lord of the Rings book, but was left out of the first movie entirely. Hint the Second; in case it isn't obvious, he is an elf. Hint the Third; he lives in Rivendell. Hint the Fourth; he was likely a minstrel or musician of sorts. And that's all I'm giving you for hints. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	4. Chapter 4

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LORD OF THE RINGS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I REFERENCE! NATALIE AND FRANCESCA OWN THEMSELVES RESPECTIVELY! I ONLY OWN MYSELF AND MY OCS!**

Chapter Four

Natalie's POV

After a week, word apparently got out that I was to be the King's new Chief Advisor. It wasn't all that bad. There were a handful of people who thought it was a good idea, considering the fact that I had travelled with the Fellowship and lived. But most people thought it was a horrible idea because I'm a girl.

_Don't get pissed. Don't get pissed. If you get pissed you'll flip out on them and that would be really, really bad. Besides, if you gave them that kind of reaction, you'd be stooping to their level. And that's something you promised never to do. Don't get pissed! _I told myself over and over again as I walked to the council room where Aragorn, Faramir, the Captain of the Guard and the other advisors and I were all supposed to meet today.

A few people gave me weird looks as I rushed through the city. I guess I didn't blame them. I mean, it's not every day they see a girl wearing a pair of legging-like pants and a tunic. I had decided to wear a pair of black legging-pants and a dark blue tunic, if only to be a pain in the ass.

Aragorn had been nice enough to ask one of the seamstresses to see what she could do about some pants and shirts for me to wear on occasion. Of course, most of my wardrobe now consisted of dresses, which I wore most of the time. I still got annoyed with wearing dresses all the time, but what can you do?

When I finally found the room, I sighed in relief when I wasn't the last one there. There was a decent sized table with a few maps spread out on it with seven chairs. Aragorn, Faramir and a tall dark-haired man I didn't know were already there. I walked in and smiled at everyone.

"Good morning, Natalie." Aragorn greeted me. Faramir also said good morning, and the other guy blinked owlishly and nodded.

"Morning everyone." I stated. Faramir and Aragorn smiled a little.

"Lady Natalie, have you met the Captain of the Guard as of yet?" Faramir asked.

"No…" I replied. Faramir nodded.

"Lady Natalie, may I introduce Teran, son of Carar, Captain of Minas Tirith's Guard?" Faramir introduced, gesturing to the dark-haired guy with grey eyes who had been looking curiously at me since I walked in.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Natalie." He smiled politely and bowed a little. I nodded a bit.

"Finally? Apparently my reputation precedes me. What did you tell him?" I asked, looking over at Aragorn and Faramir. Aragorn laughed slightly.

"We have only told him good things, I assure you, my friend." Aragorn replied. I smirked slightly, biting back the sarcastic comments that came to mind.

Soon after that, the other advisors arrived. One was my height and had dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes. One was a little taller than me, about Faramir's height and had dark red hair and green eyes. The last one I immediately didn't like. He glared at me from the second he caught sight of me and he was also about Faramir's height. He had dark hair and brown eyes. I glared right back at him.

"Welcome, my friends. Please, sit. We have much to discuss." Aragorn stated and motioned for everyone to sit. Faramir sat on Aragorn's right and I sat on his left. Teran sat next to Faramir and the one who glared at me sat next to Teran. The ginger one and the brown-haired one sat on my side of the table.

"I would like to begin by introducing my Chief Advisor, Natalie Gitin." Aragorn stated, giving me a look. I stood up, bowed awkwardly and sat back down. The dark-haired one who had glared at me snorted sarcastically and I glared daggers at him. Aragorn seemed to notice this exchange (I wasn't exactly being subtle) and cleared his throat. "Natalie, I would like to introduce everyone here to you." Aragorn continued, introducing everyone.

The ginger one who sat next to me was Caruryn, son of Gleonyr. The one next to him with the dark brown hair was Mynnyn, son of Deonyn. The one with the brown eyes and the black hair who seemed to hate me was Seobryn, son of Dydoc. I nodded and smiled politely.

"The war is over; however this does not mean that orcs are no longer a threat. A great many were destroyed when Sauron was destroyed. Though there are still a few groups roaming the lands." Aragorn started.

"What shall we do?" Faramir asked in general.

"My men have reported that a sizable number of orcs have been killed on the outskirts of Osgiliath." Teran stated.

"That's a great start. But I think we should hunt down the rest. If they leave Gondor, they could get to Harad and form an alliance with those people." I said, studying and gesturing to the map. _Huh…So this is what happens when your friends are really freakin' nerdy. Thanks Olympia! Thanks Kate! _I thought.

"And what would we do if Harad poses a threat?" Seobryn asked disapprovingly. I pulled a face. "Should we attack them as well?" he continued.

"No. We should not. If Gondor attacked Harad, it would be considered an act of war. That is the last thing Gondor needs at the moment." Mynnyn stated.

"We need to focus on the efforts of rebuilding the city." Faramir added.

The council meeting continued like this for a while. Seobryn argued with me on everything, and it seriously pissed me off. It took all my willpower not to maim and/or seriously injure him. Mynnyn and Caruryn didn't seem to be too keen on the idea of me being there, but at least they were polite. Teran was nice enough to me.

Eventually we decided that the rebuilding effort was our main priority and we set about discussing the rebuilding of Minas Tirith. Before Gimli left to go back home, he told us that should we need any smiths, stone-masons or any re-building help in general that we should write to him. Aragorn told the council members this, they agreed and I volunteered to write to Gimli.

*Olympia's POV*

We'd followed the river Anduin north for god-only-knows-how-long. Finally, we'd reached the Forest Gates of Mirkwood. We entered the dark, unsettling forest the next day. I looked around as we rode. The forest was dark and had a not-so-nice feel about it. During the day it wasn't _completely_ dark, and every so often a ray of sunlight would reach the ground through the leaves and trees above.

I didn't mind a whole lot. The forest would take time to heal from the evil that had been there, although, always having the feeling of being watched was nerve-wracking. _Was that a black squirrel? _I thought when I saw what I could have sworn was a black squirrel run across the path.

"That was a black squirrel, right?" Kate whispered next to me.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it was. Do you think they migrated from the Bronx?" I replied. Kate laughed, nearly falling off her horse and Legolas, Tawarthion and Veryan all looked curiously at us. I shrugged and we continued to ride.

"What did you say to Kate earlier to make her nearly fall off her horse for laughter?" Legolas asked, riding up next to me. I smiled.

"Did I tell you about the infamous black squirrels in the Bronx?" I responded. Legolas nodded, smiling slightly as he realized what I'd done. "Yeah. I made a joke to Kate about the black squirrels here." I laughed.

"What did you say, meleth nîn?" Legolas asked.

"I asked her if she thought the black squirrels migrated from the Bronx." I shrugged. Legolas chuckled.

That night, we camped right on the road. We lit a small fire to cook over and set a rotating watch when night came. I shuddered slightly when I noticed the giant webs on the trees just off the path. After it was my turn on watch, I fell into an uneasy sleep.

~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~

I was woken up from my sleep by Kate shaking my shoulders. I shot up and looked questioningly at my sister. She just handed me my bow and knives and yanked me to my spiders. I looked around the camp. I saw nothing but I couldn't help but feel a sense of impending doom.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Spiders." King Thranduil hissed. I cursed colorfully in Spanish. Legolas, Veryan, Tawarthion, King Thranduil, Kate and I all stood back to back, facing all different directions.

I could see the pale insect eyes of the spiders just off the path. I twirled my knives in my hands and stared at them, trying to disguise the fact that I was terrified. _Giant man-eating spiders. I knew this would happen eventually, I just didn't expect it so soon. Why aren't they doing anything? _I mused.

As if on cue, about a dozen spiders leapt out of the trees and attacked us. Nearly everyone swore loudly and started fighting. I swear; the bodies of these things alone were the size of a small car. I jumped out of the way as one of the spiders tried to sting me. I slashed at its front legs and it hissed at me.

I ducked and moved out of the way as one of the spiders tried to shoot web at me. It didn't quite work and my legs got tangled in the sticky stuff. I fell to the ground and the spider advanced on me. I pulled a face and sliced the spider's head off. I then cut through the web stuck all over my legs.

I leapt back to my feet and continued to fight. Kate and Tawarthion were fighting back to back somewhere on my right. Legolas was shooting spiders left right and center and King Thranduil had a huge (even more so than the others) spider attacking him. He was too preoccupied with that, and trying to make sure the rest of us were alive, that he didn't notice the one behind him.

_Yeaah, that's not happening. _I thought as I saw the second spider tense up to sting. With that, I dive rolled over a detached spider head and sprang up so that I was back to back with King Thranduil. He shot me the Middle Earth equivalent of a 'WTF?' look over his shoulder. The spider was now facing me. _Okyay. Maayybe I didn't think that through. _I thought.

The spider hissed and I went to stab it. It knocked my knife away with its front legs. I growled and sliced into the other leg. The spider jerked its leg and I lost my grip on my knife, which was now embedded in the leg. At a loss for what to do next, I took a step back. Before I knew what had happened, the spider lunged and stung me in the side.

*Kate's POV*

I had dispatched one of the last spiders when I heard a piercing scream. I pulled my sword out of the spider corpse and turned towards the sound. Olympia collapsed to her knees on the forest floor, clutching her side and screaming. King Thranduil, who was near her, killed the spider that was advancing on my sister. Fortunately, that spider was the last of the ones to attack us.

Everyone rushed towards Olympia. Legolas knelt next to her and started speaking rapidly. I knelt on her other side and took a good look at the stab wound, which was bleeding pretty badly. _Ai….Ooooh my god! _I thought. 

"We must stop the bleeding. Spider stings are toxic and she will soon lose consciousness." Tawarthion stated, grabbing the first aid bag I didn't know he had. I stood up and moved out of the way, watching worriedly. Olympia hissed and cursed colorfully as Tawarthion cleaned and wrapped up the wound.

"She must be taken to a healer." King Thranduil said. Legolas nodded and picked Olympia up. She was only semi-conscious and I bit my lip. "Legolas, go. We will not be far behind." King Thranduil continued. Legolas nodded, put Olympia on his horse, swung up behind her and took off.

_Please, whatever higher powers have control here, please let her be alright. _I thought as I watched them go. King Thranduil, Tawarthion and I all leapt up onto our horses (and moose-elk) and left.

"Will Olympia be alright?" I asked. All three of them looked at me.

"If Legolas finds a healer soon, she will recover. Though, she will be unconscious for a few days." Tawarthion told me.

"Ai!" I whimpered. "Did anyone see what happened?" I asked, not quite sure I wanted to know.

"She did it to help me." King Thranduil answered. "I was too concerned with the spider I was fighting and did not notice another trying to attack me from behind me. Olympia did and she attacked it to help me." He elaborated. I nodded slowly.

_He actually looks concerned. I knew he didn't hate Olympia! When she's better, I am getting 'I told you so' rights for this. _I mused as I noticed the worried look on King Thranduil's face.

"Do not worry. Legolas will find a healer in time. Olympia will heal." Veryan broke the uncharacteristic silence that had come over him since Olympia was attacked. _Damn I hope so. _I thought.

**Author's Note: Wow! We've got a lot going on here, I know. We've got Natalie and the other advisors. We've got Olympia and the spider attack. I've also got an announcement to make! This chapter is dedicated to Katherine Everdeen because she was the first to guess Kate's love interest correctly and the only prize she could think of was another chapter. Shout out to Katherine! Nice guessing! Also, for those who don't know, Kate's love interest will be Lindir eventually. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	5. Chapter 5

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LORD OF THE RINGS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I REFERENCE! NATALIE AND FRANCESCA OWN THEMSELVES RESPECTIVELY! I ONLY OWN MYSELF AND MY OCS!**

Chapter Five

Francesca's POV

We stayed in Rivendell for a short time, seeing as Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin were a bit eager to get back to the Shire. Nothing really happened during our stay other than that I was introduced to Bilbo. He was a nice guy; a little older seeming than I remembered him in the first movie, but a very nice hobbit. He told me all about his adventures and I listened, remembering that Olympia and Kate had told me this same story in what felt like another life now.

We left Rivendell after a week and set off with our ponies for the Shire. Merry and Pippin took it upon themselves to tell me everything I supposedly needed to know. I laughed as I listened to their stories of the trouble they used to cause.

"Guys…Where am I going to live when we get to the Shire?" I asked, realizing that there was nowhere really for me to go. Merry and Pippin stopped mid-sentence, Sam stared and Frodo looked slightly incredulous.

"Why, you can stay at Bag-End of course!" Frodo told me. My eyes widened.

"Really?" I asked, not knowing what to say.

"Of course." Frodo insisted.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed, bouncing up and down in the saddle and wanting to hug Frodo. Frodo chuckled a little at my obvious enthusiasm.

We rode into Hobbiton a few days later. Not that any of us particularly cared, but we got a lot of weird or disapproving looks. According to Frodo, it had been 13 months to the day since he, Sam, Merry and Pippin had left on our adventure. It was about noon when we got to Bag-End and Merry, Pippin and Sam said good-bye. We agreed to meet up together at the famous Green Dragon later.

The Shire itself was absolutely beautiful in person. Everything was a bright, healthy shade of green that I didn't even know existed and the homes were comfortable-looking built into the sides of the rolling green hills. _I love it already. _I thought, looking around.

"Well. There are quite a few guest rooms you can choose from, Francesca." Frodo told me as we went through a tour of the place. "Though, the best ones are on the left side of this hallway. They have windows overlooking the garden and the lake." He added. Eventually I chose one of the rooms with round porthole like windows and put my pack of stuff in it.

There wasn't a whole lot of stuff in the bag. The elves in Rivendell had been kind enough to give me a few dresses that would fit, so I had those. I also had the brush and leather hair-ties Kate, Natalie and I had been given in Lothlórien. Everything else in my bag was leftover food from the (return) journey. Aside from that, all I had were my weapons and the clothes on my back.

That night found all five of us sitting at a table in the Green Dragon. All around us, hobbits were laughing and joking; blissfully unaware of how close they had been to complete destruction. Someone walked past us holding a pumpkin that was probably bigger than him. For a moment, I'd just stared at the pumpkin.

I looked around the table at the slightly somber faces of my friends and smiled sadly. _The quest has changed us. We're not quite the people we used to be. We're more aware of the world, more serious, more cautious, I guess I could say. _I thought. Frodo sat down a moment later after passing mugs of ale to each of us.

We all looked at each other and I smiled sadly. All five of us raised our mugs and clanged them together in a silent toast before drinking. A moment after we put our cups down, Sam looked over towards the other end of the Green Dragon and stared at something.

"Rosie Cotton, I presume." I whispered to Merry next to me.

Merry nodded and I looked over at the girl with hazel-green eyes and sort of strawberry blonde hair. Sam promptly took a long drink from his mug of ale and got up to go talk to Rosie. The remaining four of us all stared after him. Pippin raised his eyebrows and smiled broadly. Merry pursed his lips, sighed, then took a drink from his own mug, trying to hide a grin. Frodo and I both laughed loudly.

*Legolas's POV. _Note: I do not have the resources to create an entire conversation in Sindarin, and so I will tell you that conversations in Sindarin will be italicized_*

I urged Arod into a gallop and left the camp where we had been attacked. One of my arms was wrapped around Olympia, who was only barely conscious, and the other held Arod's reins. Olympia groaned a bit and I glanced at her worriedly.

"Please, please hold on, meleth nîn. I will get you to a healer. All will be well." I murmured, though I believe I was trying to convince myself more than Olympia. Olympia soon lost all consciousness. I urged Arod faster and looked around at the green blur of the trees around me.

It was nearly dusk by the time we reached the village just outside my father's halls. All eyes were on me, I could feel it. Though, at that moment, I did not care. I rode quickly through the village, crossing a bridge before riding up to the gates of the halls. I was stopped at the gates by the guards.

"_Welcome home, Prince Legolas._" They greeted, bowing. I nodded back.

"_Well met. I am glad to be home, though I must reach a healer soon or I fear my companion will perish._" I replied quickly before dismounting Arod and gathering an unconscious Olympia into my arms. The guards nodded and one opened the gates for me while one of the others took Arod to the stables.

Once inside, I stopped the first healer I could find and quickly explained that we had been attacked by spiders on our way here. The healer nodded and ushered me to the Houses of Healing. Two other healers rushed over to us when we entered and we laid Olympia on a bed.

I stood nearby, watching nervously as the three healers rushed around the room. The healers quickly gathered water, bandages and the variety of herbs that were used to treat spider poison. I turned away, unable to watch, as they unwound the bandage around Olympia's middle. The wound was not very wide, though it bled profusely and would need to be stitched when the healers were finished.

"_My Prince, you may wish to leave. We will need to stitch the wound after the poison is treated._" One of the healers said gently, noticing my reaction. I nodded and left the room.

I began to pace the hall outside the room. The healers worked late into the evening and I did not know or care how late it was when one of them finally came out of the room.

"_We are finished. We have treated the spider poison and the wound. The wound is not large though it is deep and will take time to heal properly. She will remain unconscious for a day or two._" The healer told me, concern etched on her face. I sighed in relief and nodded.

"_Thank you._" I replied. The healer smiled slightly.

I walked back into the room, the healer right behind me, and looked at Olympia. She was unconscious on the bed, though she looked a bit more peaceful and the healers had changed her clothing after they had finished treating her. I sat in a chair beside the bed and looked at Olympia.

_All will be well, my love. The healers tell me you will recover soon. _I thought as I brushed a bit of her golden-brown hair away from her face. I bit my lip, still a bit worried; a habit I believe I picked up from Olympia.

~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~

I believe I must have fallen asleep in the Houses of Healing. I was woken by Tawarthion when he, Veryan, Kate and my father arrived. I blinked a few times before looking at the faces of everyone gathered there. My father stood beside my chair, Tawarthion had started a conversation with one of the healers, Veryan stood nearby, watching Olympia and Kate knelt next to the bed.

"Is she going to be alright?" Kate asked.

"She will be fine. We have treated her wound and the poison. She this evening, at the earliest." The healer replied. Kate sighed in relief.

"Thank god." She whispered.

"If I may ask…How do you know this elleth, my lord?" The healer turned to me. _What am I to say? Should I tell her the entire story? _I thought, though quickly decided against it.

"Olympia and her sister Kate traveled with the Fellowship of the Ring. We are close friends." I stated. Veryan raised an eyebrow at me, but said nothing. The healer nodded and left.

Tawarthion, Veryan and my father all left after a long while, leaving Kate and myself. Kate had come to sit in a chair next to me, her blue eyes locked on her sister. I soon stood and began to pace the room anxiously. I did not know how much time passed, nor did I care to count. Olympia had not so much as stirred in a long time.

"You will wear a rut in the floor if you continue that, brother." Veryan stated from the door some time later. I turned to look at him. He had a tray of food in his hands.

"What's that for?" Kate asked, nodding to the tray.

"You have been in this room all day. You must eat. Adar is planning a feast to celebrate your return, brother. Tawarthion is helping him and both agreed on two things. The first being that when Olympia awakes, she will likely be hungry and the second being that you both must eat and drink. I was dreadfully bored and volunteered to bring you food." Veryan replied. Kate and I both rolled our eyes.

"Thank you." I told my brother as he put the tray down and took up a chair.

"What time is it?" Kate asked. Veryan shrugged slightly.

"It is nearly dark." He responded. Kate's eyes widened slightly.

"She hasn't even moved in hours." She stated, looking at her sister. I nodded, looking worriedly at Olympia. Veryan passed me an apple and settled down to wait with us.

"I am sure she will wake soon. Adar and Tawarthion are as well; the feast is being planned for four days' time." Veryan replied. Kate snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes. I chuckled.

**Author's Note: And yeah, that's where I'm cutting it off. But I promise I'm only leaving you with one more cliffhanger in this particular situation. Yes! That means Olympia will wake up in the next chapter! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	6. Chapter 6

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LORD OF THE RINGS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I REFERENCE! NATALIE AND FRANCESCA OWN THEMSELVES RESPECTIVELY! I ONLY OWN MYSELF AND MY OCS! **

Chapter Six

Natalie's POV

It didn't take long for me to realize that I would be learning to become more patient in Middle Earth. I mean, this communication system was slower than snail-mail for crying out loud! I'd taken note of this a little more than a week after I wrote to Gimli and found myself wondering why he hadn't written back yet.

I pushed my snail-mail thoughts aside and left my apartments/rooms. I headed in the direction of the training grounds, knowing I would find Teran there. Teran had become a good friend of mine, seeing as Aragorn was usually very busy and Eowyn and Faramir tended to overload my tolerance for adorable-ness.

_I'm glad they're kind of a thing though. I mean, they're sickeningly adorable sometimes, but they're really good together. Yeah. I'm happy for them..._I pondered my friends who'd somehow ended up together as I made my way to the training grounds. _Even if seeing them together sometimes makes me really miss Boromir. No! No being miserable! _I shook my head, as if it would make the miserable thoughts go away. It didn't.

"Hello Lady Natalie!" Teran called to me as I finally reached the training grounds. I grinned at my friend.

"Teran…How many times am I going to have to ask you to not call me 'Lady'?" I raised an eyebrow at him as I walked into the sparring ring. Teran shrugged slightly.

"Your timing is impeccable my friend; I've just finished a training session with some of the new recruits. Though…What brings you here?" Teran stated. I shrugged.

"Boredom. I was bored and I know you're always willing to spar with me…so yeah." I replied. Teran laughed.

"Very well. Shall we?" Teran raised an eyebrow, drawing his sword. I nodded and took out my sword.

Teran and I started to circle each other. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some of the recruits gathering on the sidelines to watch, most with 'WTF?' looks. _Aw great. A crowd. _I thought.

Teran used my split second of distraction to his advantage. I barely moved out of the way as he took a stab at me. Narrowing my eyes, I slashed at his legs. Teran jumped to avoid my strike and swung at my head. Of course, my first reaction was to lean backwards. _Matrix move! Where's Elrond? _I thought, ignoring the excited murmurs of the crowd. Apparently, we were putting on a good show.

I straightened up and almost laughed at the dumbfounded look on Teran's face. I stabbed at his ribs, but he turned to the side and blocked, pushing my sword away. I pulled a face. Teran and I traded blows for a while and the only sound in the ring was the ringing of our swords and the occasional comment from the Peanut Gallery of Newbies.

Teran once again swung at my head, this time I blocked and ducked under his arm. This put me behind him. He whirled around and went for my legs. I didn't jump fast enough and I tripped. I immediately went into floor fighting position. Teran looked confused, and I used that moment to move in and do a leg-pick takedown. Essentially, I forcefully tripped him. I then grabbed my sword from where it fell and put it to Teran's neck.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seobryn standing off to the side with a very disapproving look on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to force away the thought of painfully murdering Seobryn.

Everyone stood shocked for a moment, myself included. _Did I really just beat him? That's the first time I've beaten him! Ha! _I thought. I took my sword away from Teran's neck and helped him up. He laughed and patted my shoulder.

"Very good. That is the first time you've beaten me, Natalie." Teran whispered to me. I laughed. Teran was a bit like an older brother to me. He was fun, kinda goofy, seriously annoying sometimes, and he was a good friend. He was also one of the few who supported Aragorn's decision to make me his Chief Advisor. That kind of support isn't easy to come by.

Apparently, the new recruits were all pumped up from watching their teacher get his ass kicked. All of them rushed onto the training grounds and started talking at once. I looked to Teran for help and he just laughed at me. _Yep, just like an older brother. _I thought.

To my surprise, most of them were teenagers a little younger than me. So naturally, they were pretty curious. I ended up explaining a lot of stuff from my world to them. A couple of them wanted me to teach them Jiu Jitsu. I rolled my eyes and told them I'd think about it.

I stayed with Teran for a while after the recruits left. We ended up walking in the gardens out of boredom. Eventually we sat down on one of the benches.

"You seem troubled today, my friend. What ails you?" Teran asked after a while. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I'm still trying to adjust to this world. The pace is much slower. Just this morning, I was in my rooms thinking 'What the hell? Why haven't I heard from Gimli yet?' And then I remembered that he probably hasn't even gotten my letter yet." I replied. Teran chuckled.

"While I can understand why you feel like this, that is not what I meant." Teran told me. "You seem upset, sad even. As your friend, I simply wonder if you are well in that respect." He continued. _He's a mind reader. That's got to be it. Hey, Teran! Stay out of my head! _I thought. I sighed.

"Yeah. I'm kinda sad today, I guess. I…I miss Boromir. He and I were really close." I told him. Teran raised an eyebrow at me, somehow knowing I wasn't telling the whole truth. "Okay, fine! Maybe we were a little more than friends." I added.

"Do you mean to say you and Boromir were courting?" Teran asked, looking incredulously at me. _Uhhh. No. If I remember right, courting is kind of like dating. _I thought.

"Not quite…But I loved him." I mumbled. Teran's eyes widened and he patted my shoulder.

"Then it is natural that you would be upset over his loss. I know we do not know each other very well yet. However, if you need someone to speak to about these things, I will be here." Teran told me. I nodded. "And…should you ever need a sparring partner; you seem to have made quite the impression on my recruits. Suddenly they think it would be easy to defeat me in a sparring match! We must fix that." Teran added, pretending to be mad. I burst out laughing.

"You say that like it's my fault you don't know Jiu Jitsu!" I exclaimed. Both of us laughed. The serious moment was over, though I had a feeling I'd be going to Teran to talk more often.

After talking a little longer with Teran, I started making my way back to my apartments/rooms. Seobryn stopped me on my way.

"Good afternoon, Lord Seobryn." I stated flatly, trying very hard to be polite.

"Lady Natalie." He replied. I eyed him suspiciously.

"Is there something you wanted?" I asked, giving up all pretense of politeness. We were alone, and it was blatantly obvious that I didn't like him.

"I merely wished to inquire about your…sparring match with the Captain of the Guard earlier today. You are aware that women of Gondor do not fight, yes? Many do not know how to wield a sword." He commented. I clenched my hands into fists at his mocking tone.

"I am. However, having travelled with the Fellowship of the Ring…" I started. _To save your sorry ass from Sauron. _I added mentally_. _"I think it was necessary for me to know how to defend myself. Women from my world are allowed to, and many do, learn to defend themselves should the need arise." I replied, annoyed.

"There is no need for such anger, Lady Natalie. I merely wished to see to it that you knew it was not the usual pass-time." Seobryn stated. I narrowed my eyes. I could have sworn, and still could, that he smirked evilly.

"No one's ever said I was one of the usual girls." I replied.

"Your words, not mine." Seobryn commented. _Really?! I-I have no words for that. No! Yes I do! You rude, sexist, son of a bitch! _I thought.

"What is your issue with me?!" I snapped. Seobryn glared at me. "Ever since Ara-King Elessar named me his Chief Advisor, you've hated me. So has almost everyone else. What is your problem?" I exploded. Seobryn's glare intensified.

"That is precisely why. You, in addition to being a woman, are but a child. You have no control over your emotions and are not at all qualified to have such a significant role in the governing of a realm." He snapped back. _There's something else. _I thought. The glare he gave me showed that, while he definitely thought what he just said, there was another motive.

"Oh is that all?" I challenged, thoroughly pissed off.

"No, it is not. _I _was Lord Denethor's Chief Advisor and as such should have kept that position when King Elessar took his throne. However, he saw fit to give _you _a position you do not know how to approach!" Seobryn exploded. I glared, trying not to pay any attention to his insults. _And there it is. _I concluded.

I didn't respond. I pushed past a still fuming Seobryn and speed-walked to my rooms. I slammed the door behind me and stomped into my room. I stopped as I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

_He's partially right…I have no idea what I'm doing. No! Aragorn trusts me enough to be able to figure it out. I have to be strong and keep faith in myself. Seobryn can go piss off! Ugh! I'm going to write to Kate and Olympia and Francesca; Kate and Francesca always know what to do and, Olympia can help me plot his death. _I thought.

I sat down at my desk with a piece of parchment paper, ink and a quill. Yet another testament to how different this place was; I had to learn how to write with a quill. My handwriting was barely legible with a ballpoint pen.

_Dear Olympia, _

_ Hey. How's Mirkwood? What's going on there? I want to hear about it, but I really need to tell you some things. First, Aragorn made me his Chief Advisor. So that's a thing. The re-building is going pretty slowly, but it's going. There's this dumbass named Seobryn, who was apparently Denethor's Chief Advisor. He apparently has an issue with everything I do and he's pissing me off. Want to help me plot against him? Write back to me as soon as you get this. Please? _

_Sincerely, _

_Natalie Gitin _

**Author's Note: Okay, I lied! I told you all Olympia was going to wake up in this chapter, but then the Natalie-Teran brother-sister muse and the Seobryn-Natalie face-off muses attacked. Sorry, guys! But I felt like Seobryn being a pain-in-the-ass for the sole purpose of sexism wasn't enough. So I had Natalie steal his job too. Sorry Nat! Anyway, Olympia and the Mirkwood crew will be in the next chapter. I swear! There, you can all hold me to an oath on it now! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	7. Chapter 7

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything else that I reference! Natalie and Francesca own themselves respectively! I only own myself and my OCs! **

Chapter Seven

Kate's POV

Legolas and I stayed in the room late into the night and much of the next day. Tawarthion, Veryan and King Thranduil came in and out to check on us and Olympia. Tawarthion had convinced me to leave so he could show me to the rooms Olympia, and myself as per request, would be staying when she woke up. Other than that, I didn't leave my sister's side; neither did Legolas.

Olympia finally woke up that night. It was late and Legolas and I were the only ones in the room. Legolas had zoned out and I was staring into space, on the verge of falling asleep. Suddenly Olympia stirred and a moment later there was a groan and she sat up. Legolas and I both shot up immediately.

"Wh-Where am I?" Olympia asked. I all but tackle-hugged her.

"Oh thank god! You're alive!" I exclaimed, hugging her tightly. She let out an 'Oof!' and hugged me back.

"What happened? I don't remember anything after the spider got me." Olympia stated, pulling away from me. Legolas then came and sat at the edge of the bed.

"You lost consciousness, my love. I brought you here so that the healers could treat your wound. You have been unconscious since yesterday morning." Legolas told her.

Olympia's eyes widened slightly and Legolas leaned in and kissed her. I looked away, feeling awkward. After an amount of time that felt entirely too long to me, the two of them finally pulled apart. I honestly thought they were adorable and I was really happy for them; but there's no way to not feel awkward in this particular position. Olympia soon began to rub at her side where the wound and stitches were.

*Olympia's POV*

"Don't touch it!" Kate told me, swatting my hand when I went to rub my side where the spider had stung me. It still hurt like a bitch. I looked up at her curiously.

"The healers had to stitch your wound once it was treated. You would not want to accidently remove the stitches." Legolas explained. I nodded, made a face and leaned on Legolas's shoulder.

"Did I miss anything important while I was out?" I asked after a moment. Legolas chuckled and kissed the top of my head.

"Not really. King Thranduil is planning a homecoming festival thing for Legolas that's going to be in two days." Kate replied. I laughed, wincing as pain shot through my side.

"Blech. This sucks. I can't even laugh!" I exclaimed. Legolas gave me a side-hug and Kate laughed.

"Don't mock me!" I told her, whacking her with a pillow unable to keep the smile off my face. There was a laugh from the door and all three of us turned to see King Thranduil standing in the doorway.

"It is good to see you are awake, Olympia." He said, smiling broadly. I smiled back and nodded. King Thranduil walked in and sat in the chair that had been previously occupied by Legolas.

"Now that you are conscious, I wish to thank you. You saved my life, for surely that spider would have killed me had you not stepped in." King Thranduil told me. _What do I say to that? _I thought, drawing a mental blank. I just nodded.

A few minutes later one of the healers came in, introduced herself as one of those who'd taken care of me when Legolas brought me in and shooed everyone out so she could check the sting-wound. She told me it was healing well, and that I could leave the Healing Halls if I promised to be careful and not accidently tear out the stitches. _So, no Jiu Jitsu until the stitches are out? Nooo! _I thought. The healer then handed me a dress and I changed.

"So, what'd she say?" Kate asked when I walked out into the hall.

"That so long as I don't accidently rip the stitches out, I can leave. That means no Jiu Jitsu." I pouted. Kate made a face, Legolas wrapped an arm around my shoulders and King Thranduil looked slightly amused at my pouting.

"You'll be fine. Come on. We'll show you the rooms you and I are staying in." Kate changed the subject. I nodded and she, Legolas and I left.

We walked through the halls and I stared around at everything. The stone was carved to look like the forest and the pillars holding them up looked like trees. It was incredible. To this day, I don't know whether or not it was real, but I could have sworn I heard a bird chirping somewhere as we walked.

Apparently, I was to be given a grand tour of the halls. Legolas showed Kate and me everything there was to see. _How the hell am I going to not get lost? _I wondered.

The room Kate and I were staying in was beautiful, if a little plain. There were two pretty big beds with earthy colored blankets, a wooden wardrobe-like thing, a vanity/dresser (also made of wood), and an adjoining bathroom of sorts. Ours was one of the rooms with a window and small balcony. The view of the forest was amazing and I loved it.

Apparently, Kate had brought all my stuff into the rooms. She showed me where she'd put everything and we left the rooms soon after. We walked around the halls for a while and eventually ran into Veryan.

"Hello Olympia!" He grinned, (none too gently) nudging Legolas aside so he could walk by me, smirking evilly as he did so. _Does he spend all his free time thinking up ways to annoy his brother? _I wondered. "It is good to see that you have woken up. Do you know that we had to bring food to the Healing Halls so these two would eat?" Veryan asked.

"I actually did not know that." I commented, not sure of what to say.

"Olympia you realize he's just doing this to be a pain in the ass right?" Kate whispered to me while Veryan, yet again, began to tease Legolas.

"Oh yeah. I know." I replied. We wandered for a while, when we ran into Tawarthion.

"Tawarthion! Veryan's a pain!" Kate stated after Tawarthion welcomed me back to the land of the living.

"This is news to you?" Tawarthion asked, beating me to it. I laughed seeing as I had thought the exact same thing, Kate smacked him on the shoulder and Veryan looked highly offended.

"I am _not_!" he replied indignantly.

"Yes you are, brother." Legolas chimed in.

"I do not think anyone asked you." Veryan argued, elbowing Legolas. Legolas retaliated by shoving Veryan a little and Tawarthion actually Gibbs slapped them both.

"I take it this is a normal occurrence." I noted.

"Yes." Tawarthion and Legolas told me. Veryan pouted and made a face at his oldest brother. I laughed.

"And I thought _we _were bad." Kate mused. Legolas chuckled and Tawarthion and Veryan gave us confused looks.

"How so?" Veryan asked, suddenly very curious. I glanced at Kate and we both smirked.

"Well…Did you hear the nerf war story?" I asked. Tawarthion and Veryan nodded. Tawarthion chuckled, likely guessing at what we were getting at.

"Things like that used to happen a lot. Most of the time they were on a larger scale and included our cousins Rachel, Jason, Ryan, Tony, Ana and some of our other cousins or friends." Kate continued. "There was one occasion on which Olympia had a stroke of absolute brilliance and managed to turn all of them against each other." She added.

_Ha! I remember this. _I thought, almost laughing at the memory. Legolas, Tawarthion, and Veryan all looked at me. Legolas raised an eyebrow.

"I do not believe I have heard this story yet." He stated. I shook my head and fell into step with him.

"It wasn't all that hard. Trees are great hiding spots, by the way." I replied. "We were at our cousin Ana's house. She and Ryan are siblings, as are Rachel and Jason. Our cousins Karen and Kayla, who are twins, were there too. We were all having a nerf war and somewhere in the middle of it, I decided that hiding in a tree was a good idea. From there, I got the brilliant idea to shoot Jason in the back of the head. He turned around, thinking it was Ryan and they turned against each other. I did the same thing to Karen and Ana, and Kayla, Kate and Rachel. Then I just sat in my hideout in the tree and watched them all shoot at each other until they ran out of nerf darts." I explained. Everyone burst into laughter.

"Only after we ran out of bullets did someone say 'Hey. Where's Olympia? As you can probably imagine, it didn't take too long for us to figure out that she'd set us all against each other. Evil, evil genius." Kate commented, once we'd all stopped laughing.

We continued telling stories like this until dinner. That night was the first time Legolas showed up in the Dining Hall since he got back. So naturally he was welcomed back by everyone. Kate and I also seemed to attract _way _too much attention.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat next to Kate, feeling everyone's eyes on us. I glanced at my sister and she squeezed my hand under the table. _What are we going to do? _I wondered. I mouthed the question to Kate, who shrugged.

"Do not worry. Our father plans to properly introduce you to the kingdom at the feast the day after tomorrow. This way, we will only have to explain your story once. Simply ignore the whispers for the moment. It was bound to occur at some point." Veryan whispered to Kate and me, likely seeing our looks of panic.

"Okay." Kate whispered back. _Great! Public speaking! _I thought sarcastically.

It was easier said than done; ignoring the whispers and odd looks sent our way. Yet somehow I managed. After dinner Kate and I went back to our rooms and sat down on the beds.

"Well. We're going to be the talk of the kingdom for the foreseeable future." I commented. Kate rolled her eyes and started brushing out her hair.

"It's alright. It's not like we could understand them yet anyway." She commented.

"Oh crap! That reminds me! We have to learn elvish!" I sat up straight as I realized this.

"It's okay! We'll ask Legolas tomorrow. And I'm sure Veryan and Tawarthion would be willing to help too." Kate replied.

"Why are you so damn practical?" I asked, flopping back down into the pillows. Kate laughed.

"I'm the older sibling, it's my job." She replied.

I smiled and Kate handed me a nightgown to change into. We stayed up for a while, leaning on the balcony outside and talking. Eventually, however, we fell asleep.

**Author's Note: Ta-da! As promised and sworn an oath on (damn Fëanor muse) Olympia is awake! Woo! *Tosses confetti* The mentioned homecoming party that King Thranduil is organizing will be coming up soon. I am going to have waaay too much fun with that…Meep! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	8. Chapter 8

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything else that I reference! Natalie and Francesca own themselves respectively! I only own myself and my OCs!**

Chapter Eight

Olympia's POV

*Note: Sindarin conversations are in _italics. _I've also found a website that will provide me with a few phrases, but conversations will still be italicized*

Kate, Legolas, Veryan, Tawarthion and I spent the morning on the day before the homecoming feast in the library. Tawarthion had managed to find some of the books they use to teach children how to speak elvish and he and Legolas agreed to teach Kate and I.

The two of them had made it a personal mission to make sure Kate and I would be able to speak something in case we had to address people at the feast the following night. We'd also copied the alphabet a few times as a start to our reading and writing lessons. Veryan had taken up a chair and proceeded to laugh when Kate and I butchered the pronunciations.

We sat at a table in the back with books, papers and quills sprawled out everywhere. I stared at the alphabet that Tawarthion had me copy onto a piece of paper. The letters were all correct, but my penmanship was even more illegible than it would have been had I done it with something I was more used to writing with.

"It is not bad." Legolas commented. I chuckled.

"You're being nice. My penmanship is awful." I replied. Legolas didn't respond.

"It is. We shall have to work on that with you and Kate, as her handwriting is not the best." Veryan added in a teasing tone.

"No one asked you." Kate told him, glaring at her own alphabet scribble.

"You digress, brother. How would you greet someone speaking to you at the feast?" Tawarthion turned the focus back to our speaking skills. I pulled a face. We'd been taught a few greetings and some other phrases that should be enough for the feast tomorrow.

"_Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn._" (A star shines on the hour of our meeting) Kate stated. I replied with something similar to that effect. Tawarthion nodded, Legolas smiled slightly and Veryan chuckled.

"Quit laughing Veryan. I know my accent sucks." I narrowed my eyes at Veryan.

"I did not say that." Veryan defended.

"You were thinking it." I countered.

"True. However I did not say so aloud." Veryan told me. I made a face at him.

The lessons continued like this until lunchtime. Kate and I had made a decent amount of progress with pronunciation and accents, and it would work for the feast tomorrow night. However, Tawarthion had promised that we would learn to read, write and speak fluently. _Woo. Learning another foreign language. Can't wait! _I thought sarcastically.

~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~

Later on that day found Legolas and me wandering the halls. Already, people were rushing around, getting ready for the feast the next day. I watched, a little surprised as all the people rushed back and forth to different places.

"Wow. Your father goes all out when plans a party, doesn't he?" I asked Legolas, who laughed.

"Indeed. My father very much enjoys celebrations of this kind." He commented. I nodded. _I feel like I want to draw something. _I thought.

"Legolas. Do you happen to have any spare sketchbooks anywhere? I feel like I want to draw something." I stated a few minutes later.

"I believe I have an unused one in my rooms. I would very much like to see you draw something Olympia." Legolas replied, smiling a little. "If, of course, we can find a quiet place to work." He added.

"That last part might be easier said than done." I commented. We both laughed slightly and Legoals led me in the direction of his rooms.

Legolas's room, as one would expect, had an earthy theme to it. The desk and wardrobe were dark-colored wood, the walls were a dark green color, there was a dark brown colored rug-like thing, and his bed had green and brown blankets. He also had a balcony with see-through dark green curtains over the opening. It was really nice.

I stood in the doorway, looking around as Legolas went over to his desk and leafed through the papers there. _Wow. His desk might actually be worse than the one I had at home. I didn't think that was possible! _I noticed. Legolas eventually found two sketchbooks, one of which I'm assuming he used, and some writing utensils that looked vaguely like pencils. _Yes! _I thought.

"I didn't think it was possible for someone to have a messier desk than me." I told Legolas when he walked back over to me.

"My desk is not nearly as disorganized as yours was." Legolas retorted, handing me the empty sketchbook and a pencil.

"When did you see my desk?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"When we were in your world, I was in your room twice if I recall correctly. Once was when Natalie had me help her wake you the morning after we arrived. The second time was when I helped you put away your flute music." Legolas reminded me.

"Oh yeah." I replied lamely. Legolas smiled and we left. "Where are we going to go?" I asked.

"There is a courtyard and garden just outside the gates, before the bridge. I thought we could go there." Legolas answered.

"Sounds good to me!" I responded. It took a little walking to get to the courtyard, but I didn't mind.

There were all sorts of trees and flowers in the courtyard. Legolas and I sat on one of the benches and I looked out at everything. _Oh yeah. I can definitely draw this. _I thought, grinning.

"I love it!" I told Legolas. He beamed at me.

"I am glad. I thought you would enjoy this place." Legolas responded. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. I didn't press the issue.

I opened the sketchbook to the first page and twirled the pencil in my fingers. There was one flower growing nearby that I'd never seen before. It was a beautiful, vibrant dark blue and it looked sort of lily-ish. I studied the plant for a moment before I pushed the long, bell-like sleeves of my dress up and started to draw. My hair insisted upon falling into my face and eventually I tied it back with one of the leather ties I carry around on the belts of my dresses. The sun was starting to sink into the west before I finished and looked up.

"Legolas. I'm done." I poked Legolas's with the end of my pencil to get his attention. He looked up from whatever he was drawing and studied the paper I showed him.

"This is very good, meleth nîn." Legolas smiled. I beamed at him.

"Thanks." I replied. "What are you drawing?" I asked, trying to look over his shoulder at his sketchbook. Legolas quickly clutched the book to his chest.

"It is not finished yet. When it is, I will show you first." He told me. I pulled a face.

"Alright." I stated, looking out over the horizon. King Thranduil's halls seemed to be built on (and under) a hill, so the courtyard had an amazing view of the forest. I started drawing the landscape.

"Olympia. It is finished." Legolas said, poking me with the end of his pencil the way I had earlier. My eyes widened and I moved closer to Legolas so I could look over his shoulder at the drawing.

The drawing was of the courtyard. The trees, flowers and other plants were very detailed. The sun was setting in the background and one could see the late afternoon light on everything, even if the drawing wasn't colored. There was an elf woman sitting on the bench, looking out over the horizon and it took me a minute to realize it was me.

"This is me, isn't it?" I asked, still focused on the drawing.

"It is." Legolas replied, blushing a little.

"This is incredible. I love it!" I told him.

"Thank you. I am glad you like it." Legolas replied.

"Can I see some of your other drawings? Please?" I asked. Legoals hesitated for a moment, but nodded.

We looked through his other drawings for a while. Most of them were of landscapes and views like the one we could see from the courtyard. There were also some portraits of people. I recognized a few as being Veryan and Tawarthion; there was even one of King Thranduil.

There was one portrait in the beginning of Legolas's sketchbook that looked like it had been torn out of another one. The picture was colored and showed an elf woman I didn't recognize. She had pale blonde, almost silver-ish hair, bright cheerful blue eyes and a warm smile. I furrowed my eyebrows a little.

"Legolas. Who is this?" I asked softly. Legolas looked at the picture and sighed sadly.

"This is a portrait of my mother. She was killed by orcs when Veryan was in what I believe mortals call teenage years. I had drawn this with Tawarthion's help for her Begetting Day a few years earlier." Legolas told me.

I wrapped my arms around Legolas's torso and gave him a hug. Legolas blink a few times before hugging me back and burying his face in my hair. We sat like that for a while. We eventually pulled apart and I looked at the picture of Legolas's mother again.

"Veryan looks a lot like her." I thought aloud.

"He does." Legolas nodded in agreement. I studied Legolas's face for a moment.

"You look a little bit like her too. You have her eyes." I commented.

"I have been told that many times." Legolas smiled slightly.

"Tawarthion looks almost exactly like your father though." I stated. Legolas laughed. "Kate looks just like our mother. She acts a bit like her too. People used to say I acted like my mom too, but I don't look like her so much. I look a bit more like my dad's side of my family. We have the same green eyes. But everyone had dark hair on both sides; so when I tried to find out how I got the hair color I did we had to look through old photo albums and records. Eventually we found a picture of my great grandmother when she was young." I rambled.

"And what did you learn from this research?" Legolas asked.

"That I look almost exactly the way my great grandmother did when she was young. And that trying to get my cousins to do anything for an extended length of time is a bad idea because they get really bored really easily." I replied. Legolas chuckled.

We went inside soon after that. It had gotten pretty late and to this day I'm certain that Veryan would have teased us relentlessly if we'd rushed inside in the middle of the night after having disappeared randomly in the middle of the day.

**Author's Note: Aaahh! The feels! Yeah…I'm not even sure why I brought up Legolas's mother if I was going to do that! Bad muses! Anyway, there shall be partying coming up! Woo! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	9. Chapter 9

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything else that I reference! Natalie and Francesca own themselves respectively! I only own myself and my OCs! **

Chapter Nine

Francesca's POV

If there's anything I've learned from being in the Shire for nearly a week, it's that Merry and Pippin most likely have serious drinking problems. Currently, they, Sam and I were at the Green Dragon. Sam and I were sitting at the bar with Sam's dad, who is usually referred to as 'Gaffer' and Merry and Pippin were dancing on a table. Again.

"Is there anything I can get you, miss?" someone asked. I jumped slightly and looked up to see Rosie Cotton.

"Just some water would be good. I don't particularly feel like joining them on that table." I smiled, nodding towards Merry and Pippin. Rosie laughed.

"Not to be rude, miss, but I never caught your name…" Rosie stated awkwardly as she set down a glass of water near me.

"It's not rude, and I'm Francesca Adams." I replied.

"I'm Rosie Cotton. It's nice to properly meet you, Miss Francesca. Everyone's been talking about you since you came back with the lads. Where did you lot go, if you don't mind my asking?" Rosie continued.

I took a deep breath. _What should I tell her? How would she react to the truth? _I wondered. Rosie looked at me curiously.

"We, uh, went on an adventure." I answered vaguely. Rosie tilted her head slightly to the side.

"Would you like to tell me about this adventure?" she asked.

"Normally I wouldn't mind too much, but I don't know if this is the right place to do it." I stated.

"I understand, Miss Francesca. Another time maybe?" she tried. I smiled a little.

"Sure! What time do you get off work?" I asked. Rosie smiled.

"If you'd be willing to stay that long, we're open a bit late." She told me.

"I don't really have anything to do. And I'm definitely not taking Merry and Pippin home when they inevitably get kicked out." I responded, glancing at the aforementioned hobbits.

As I predicted, Merry and Pippin were eventually asked to leave and Sam rolled his eyes before leaving to take them home. I said good-night to the three of them as they left. Sam blushed furiously when Rosie said good-night to him and I bit my lip against a grin.

A while later, Gaffer and some others left. The Green Dragon started to clear out and Rosie came around the counter to sit next to me when there were only a few drunk hobbits still laughing at a table in the back.

"Would you tell me about your adventure now, miss Francesca? I'm sorry if I seem blunt, but I'm quite curious now, you see." Rosie smiled awkwardly as she said this.

"It's alright. Now, where do I begin?" I muttered to myself. After a moment of debating whether or not Rosie would believe me, I started at the beginning. Rosie was pretty nice, and I hoped we'd be friends someday. _Lying is no way to start a friendship. _I told myself.

"I suppose I'll start at the beginning. I'm not technically from this world. There's a whole Middle Earth outside the Shire and another world even beyond that. This other world is just called Earth, and that's where I'm from." I started.

"There are other worlds? I've heard old Bilbo's stories about lands outside the Shire, but I've never heard about other _worlds _before." Rosie stated, shocked.

"Yeah. Technologically, Earth is more advanced. But I like it better here. People are nicer and there's much less noise and pollution…Anyway, my adventure began when Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin and the Fellowship of the Ring fell out of my best friend's TV and into the living room. Even in Earth terms, that's weird." I continued.

Rosie was very, very curious about every detail of our 'adventure'. I ended up telling her all about my world, its technology, my friends and our adventures there. We sat and talked there for a long while. Rosie was a good listener and we had a very nice conversation. When we eventually grew quiet, the hobbits at the table in the back had passed out and we were the only ones left.

"Goodness gracious! I ought to be going home. It's rather late and my shift has been over for a while now." Rosie stated.

"I'll help you clean up, if you want." I offered.

"Oh, no! I couldn't possibly ask your help, Miss Francesca. It is my job, after all." Rosie stated.

"I insist. What needs to be done?" I asked. Rosie eventually agreed and together we got everything cleaned up much faster than Rosie would have alone.

"Good night Rosie!" I called as I turned down the road and towards Bag-End.

"Good night, Miss Francesca the Fierce!" Rosie called back.

I tossed my head back and laughed, remembering when Sam and I had started a conversation about the stories that would be told about the Fellowship eventually and when Frodo had consequently dubbed us 'Samwise the Brave' and 'Francesca the Fierce'. That had been one of Rosie's favorite stories to hear, likely because it involved Sam.

*Olympia's POV*

The homecoming feast, as I'd begun to call it, was supposed to happen at night. Naturally, King Thranduil's halls had become a bustling mess to rival New York City that day. Kate and I sighed as we weaved through a crowd of elves carrying barrels of wine somewhere. Yes, they were _barrels_, not just bottles. Kate and I had just finished that day's elvish lesson and were heading back to our rooms to start getting ready for the feast.

"My god, this place is busy!" I exclaimed once we were safely in our room.

"I know." Kate replied as she began to dig through the wardrobe we'd been sharing.

Over the course of the last few days, we'd come into possession of quite a few dresses and each of us had two sets of legging-tunic combos for when we felt inclined to go to the training fields and practice Jiu Jitsu. Legolas had also managed to find pants pajamas for Kate and me.

"So what are we wearing tonight, hmm?" I asked as I watched my sister pull out yet another dress, hold it up to me, make a face and then put it back.

"I don't know yet. I want us to look nice; this is going to be our formal introduction to the _entire _kingdom. And I want you to look especially good. You _are_ dating the prince, so you have to make more of an impression than me." Kate smirked.

"Also, one of the little elf-girls gave me some flowers and asked that I put them in my hair tonight. I laughed, told her yes and asked if I could have some for my sister too." She added. I raised an eyebrow and Kate held up a small basket of flowers.

"Well then, why don't we wear something to match the flowers?" I suggested. Kate's eyes lit up and she started to mumble to herself as she looked at the colors of the flowers and began to dig through the wardrobe again.

Eventually, Kate picked out a coral-colored dress and tossed it in my general direction. I chuckled a little and took a look at it. The neckline of the dress was square and there were gold-colored designs on the neckline, the bands on the upper sleeves, and the sash around the waist.

"I like it." I concluded.

"Good. You always looked good in that color anyway." Kate commented, smiling.

"What are you wearing?" I asked.

"This." Kate replied, holding up a similar dress in a medium blue color.

"Cool." I told her.

After I changed into the dress, Kate sat me down at the vanity table and set to work on my hair. The girl had given my sister some coral-colored and white flowers, so she used them. Kate parted my hair in the middle and French braided each side back with the small flowers in it and the braids were pinned at the back of my head. I did the same to Kate's hair with blue flowers the girl had also given her.

Kate and I left our rooms at around dusk and followed the crowd of people who were heading out of the halls. We walked outside into the forest and I smiled. The trees in this part of Mirkwood weren't quite as dense, and the red-orange light of the setting sun filtered through the leaves of the surrounding birch trees.

Suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder. Kate and I both turned to see Veryan. He motioned for us to follow him and we were promptly dragged away from the group and around into a large clearing.

Long tables were set up on one side of the clearing with a slightly smaller, but higher table at the head where King Thranduil, Tawarthion, Veryan and Legolas would be. The other end of the clearing was left open for what I assumed would be a dance floor. There was a raised platform on the end opposite the tables where the musicians would probably be playing. There were torches all around the edges of the clearing and candles on the table that gave a yellow-orange glow to everything.

Veryan dragged us to the head table and we found that Tawarthion, Legolas and King Thranduil were already there and dressed up for the occasion. Veryan sat with his older brothers on King Thranduil's right side and Kate and I took the two chairs to King Thranduil's left.

"Good evening, ladies. You both look lovely this night." King Thranduil greeted us.

"Thank you, King Thranduil." Kate and I replied in unison.

A few moments later, the group of other elves Kate and I had been following came into the clearing, talking and laughing. They all took seats and talked across the clearing with a musical quality in their voices that I'm convinced is characteristic of every elf aside from Kate and me.

"What are we supposed to do?" I whispered to Kate. She shrugged.

"I am going to call their attention and briefly explain your curious situation. If you would not mind, I would ask you to explain the aforementioned situation in detail once I am through. What say you, my ladies?" King Thranduil leaned towards us and whispered, obviously having heard me. Kate and I nodded.

"I'm totally translating whatever you say into Spanish." I whispered, more quietly, to my sister. I saw King Thranduil smirk out of the corner of my eye and almost face-palmed when I realized he'd heard that too.

"Sounds like a plan." Kate whispered back.

King Thranduil then called for the attention of the crowd and everyone turned to him. King Thranduil started speaking elvish, and I felt stupidly proud of myself when I caught and deciphered a few words or phrases. First, we officially welcomed Legolas home and gave a brief speech about that, then he talked more about Kate and me. I felt the curious stares of everyone at some point or another during that part of King Thranduil's speech.

When he was done, King Thranduil nodded slightly towards Kate and me. I looked quickly at my sister and saw the same nervousness in her blue eyes that I felt. We stood up together and everyone turned to look at us. I shifted uncomfortably and Kate took my hand and squeezed it slightly.

Kate started to explain, in detail, that we were from another world entirely. She talked about our home, how the Fellowship appeared there and how all of us came to be in Middle Earth. I stood next to her and spoke in Spanish, translating everything Kate said. Obviously, she left out the more ridiculous things we did, like the nerf war and the (in)famous Caradhras snowball fight. Everyone stared wide-eyed at us when we were done. We both smiled at the crowd, me more awkwardly than Kate, and sat down.

King Thranduil then said something else in elvish and the mass consumption of alcohol and partying began. Elves walked around serving lots of different foods, everyone started talking, and the musicians went over to their little platform and began to play.

"Here; try some Dorwinion wine." King Thranduil's voice made me jump slightly. He was holding a glass of wine to both me and Kate and smiling. "It is very good. I insist that you have some." He continued.

Kate grinned and accepted the glass. _Why not? _I thought, taking the glass. I took a sip and I could have sworn my eyes bugged out of my head. It tasted a little like red wine, but it was sweeter and much, _much _stronger.

"Oh my god! Olympia, if you could see your face right now!" Kate exclaimed, bursting into laughter. Even King Thranduil laughed, so I'm assuming the face I had on was hilarious. I laughed too after a minute.

"I actually really like it though." I stated as my laughter died out.

After a while, elves started to migrate towards the dance floor. Kate laughed and Tawarthion looked like he wanted to head-desk as Veryan met up with a male-elf I'm assuming was a friend of his and the two of them made their way over to a group of elf-women. Less than a minute later, both of them had found dance partners and had moved into the crowd of dancing elves. Kate and I had moved to sit with Tawarthin and Legolas.

"Judging by the look on Tawarthion's face, I'm going to say this happens every time your father throws a party." I commented to Legolas.

"You would be correct in that assumption as this happens quite often." Legolas replied, chuckling slightly.

"What Legolas means to say, is that my youngest brother and his friend, Beinion, are shameless flirts." Tawarthin added. Kate and I burst into fits of hysterical laughter.

"I can see that." Kate commented.

After a while, Veryan and his friend Beinion came over to Tawarthion, Legolas, Kate and me and tried to drag us all out to the dance floor. Beinion had blonde hair and green-grey eyes.

"I do not see the fun in sitting here all night. Come dance with us!" Veryan stated, pulling Tawarthion and Legolas to their feet.

"Yes! Do not be such spoil-sports!" Veryan's friend told Tawarthion and Legolas. He then took Kate's hand and pulled her up. "Furthermore, a beautiful elleth such as yourself should not be sitting alone during a festival such as this. Tell me, what would you say if I asked you to dance with me, Lady Kate?" he asked her. Kate glared at me when I snickered, but she went out to the dance floor with Beinion.

"May I have this dance, Olympia?" Legolas asked me once Beinion and Kate had gone to the dance floor. I smiled and laughed a little.

"Yes. But honestly, how do expect me to be able to pull this off? I can't dance. At all." I replied, nodding towards the dancers. The tempo of the music was pretty fast, and the dance looked complicated.

"I shall find someone to teach you." Legolas told me. I raised an eyebrow, but followed Legolas out to the dance floor.

He tapped the shoulder of a young elf-girl who looked about ten in human terms. They had a brief conversation and the girl came over to me. She had pale blonde hair and bright green eyes.

"_Le suilon! _I am Lindethiel." (I greet you) the girl smiled. _Hmm. To show off or not to show off; that is the question. _I thought.

"_Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn._" (A star shines on the hour of out meeting.) I replied, deciding to show off a little. "My name is Olympia." I continued. Legolas raised an eyebrow at me.

"Prince Legolas has told me that you do not know the steps to the dance we are doing. He has asked me to teach you, Lady Olympia." Lindethiel stated.

"Thank you, it's very nice of you to teach me." I told her.

Lindethiel smiled and proceeded to show me how to do the graceful, complex steps to the dance everyone was doing. I stumbled over some of the harder steps, but Lindethiel was patient and we practiced them for a little bit. Eventually, she and Legolas deemed me ready for the dance floor.

"And here you told me you could not dance." Legolas whispered to me when the song was over. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You had someone teach me. That doesn't count!" I countered. Legolas chuckled and kissed my forehead.

"I love you, Olympia." He told me. I smiled brightly and gave him a hug.

"I love you too." I mumbled.

**Author's Note: Whew! Long chapter! But yeah, I told you I was going to have fun with this! Originally, I had a whole drunk!Thranduil thing in here, but it took up ****_way_**** too much space so I had to take it out…READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	10. Chapter 10

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything else that I reference! Francesca and Natalie own themselves respectively! I only own myself and my OCs! **

Chapter Ten

Olympia's POV

A week or so after the homecoming feast, a messenger came into King Thranduil's Halls. He'd said he had a message from Gondor for me. My eyes widened and I took a sealed letter from him. I muttered a 'thank you' and hurried to my rooms, with Kate hot on my heels.

"I'm assuming it's from Natalie." Kate stated, watching me struggle with the wax seal on the letter. I finally got it open and started to read.

"Yeah. She wants me help her plot against some Nat-proclaimed dumbass named Seobryn. Aragorn made Natalie his Chief Advisor and apparently this Seobryn character is antagonizing and criticizing her for it." I summarized.

"Hmm. Tell her I said 'Hi' okay? Oh! We also have to write to Francesca!" Kate reminded me.

"Oh crap yeah! I've got writing to do…" I stated. Kate nodded.

I rushed over to the desk, which had quickly become just as much of a war-zone as my desk at home had been, and plopped unceremoniously into the chair. I grabbed some parchment paper, ink and a quill. Kate snickered at the way I rushed around.

_Dear Natalie,_

_ Hey! It's good to hear from you. I'll tell you all about the Mirkwood stuff after we settle this Seobryn issue. Congrats on becoming Aragorn's Chief Advisor, you're one of the best he'll be able to get! Seobryn's a dumbass and of course I'll help you plot against him! Any ideas? _

_ Mirkwood is actually a lot of fun. Aside from the fact that we were attacked by giant spiders upon our arrival, it's been fun. I mean, I had to have stitches from the giant spider-sting, but other than that…King Thranduil planned a homecoming feast thing for Legolas and Kate and I were properly introduced to the kingdom. King Thranduil introduced Kate and me Dorwinion wine. It's really good, but it's strong enough to down even elves, so I'm not sure what the effect on you would be whenever you visit. Legolas, Tawarthion and Veryan are teaching Kate and me elvish. It's a little hard and the accent, at least for us, is hard to imitate. But we're learning! _

_ Write back to me soon, okay? Kate says hi! Tell Aragorn, Faramir and Eowyn that we say hi, okay? Oh! And if you get a hold of Cellyn anytime soon, tell him we say hi too. Oh, and what's up with this 'sincerely' crap? I've known you forever and a day, man! _

_Love,_

_Olympia Kochie_

Once I finished the letter and made sure it was legible, I folded it up and left it on my desk. _I'm pretty sure the messenger guy's leaving in a few days. I'll give it to him before he goes. I wonder how we're going to get people all the way to the Shire and back…Grr! Why does everyone have to live so far away! _I thought.

Kate and I left our room a while later, wandering out to the training grounds where we usually found Legolas, Tawarthion and Veryan. They and one or two other elves were there, practicing. I glanced at Kate, smirking slightly and she rolled her eyes at me.

Legolas and Veryan were practicing some of the Jiu Jitsu stuff we'd been teaching them. I snuck up on Veryan and put him in a forearm choke. Legolas started laughing and Veryan elbowed me in the ribs before taking my arm off his neck and putting me in a standing arm-bar.

"Nice job!" I coughed.

The elbow to the ribs hadn't hurt too much, but the stitches I'd needed from the spider wound had only just come out the previous day. Apparently, elves heal a hell of a lot faster than humans do. I wasn't complaining; I just found it odd that a wound that would've had a normal human on bed rest for a long time healed for an elf in a little over two weeks.

"But next time, you'll want to put your right foot in front of my left one, otherwise I can do this." I continued, kicking my left foot forward, tripping Veryan.

Veryan fell over with an 'Oomph!' and a few muttered curses. I laughed and got up. Kate and Legolas both laughed as Veryan got up and narrowed his eyes at me.

"So what are you guys doing?" Kate asked.

"We were practicing the martial arts techniques you have been teaching us. Evidently, I need it." Veryan answered with a pointed look at me. I shrugged and smiled.

"A messenger arrived earlier with a letter for you, Olympia. May I ask who it was from?" Legolas asked.

"It was from Natalie. Aragorn made her his Chief Advisor. She says there's this guy; I'm thinking he's another advisor, who has issues with the king's Chief Advisor being a woman. So he's been giving Natalie a hard time. She wrote to me asking if I'd help her plot against him. Francesca also wanted us to write to her, so I'll start that letter later. There are messengers that'll go to the Shire, right?" I replied.

"Yes, my love, we have messengers who will go to the Shire." Legolas smiled slightly.

After that, the four of us practiced Jiu Jitsu some more. Veryan, still a little annoyed, asked how to do the arm-bar properly. Kate demonstrated, using him as the test-dummy so he could feel how the technique was supposed to work. We taught Legolas and Veryan some floor pins from the arm-bar, some more wrist and joint locks and the most basic judo throws we could think of.

We practiced until it was time for dinner. Kate and I sat with Legolas, Tawarthion, Veryan and King Thranduil at dinner. King Thranduil tried valiantly not to laugh when Veryan started muttering in elvish and rubbing his shoulder due to the 'strange pain', as sensei used to call it, associated with judo throws and such.

After dinner, Kate and I sat outside in the courtyard for a while. The sun had set and the moon and stars lit the courtyard. Kate and I looked up at the stars and I smiled.

"If there's anything I really love about this place, it's _got _to be the stars." Kate mused.

"Yeah. Hey Kate…" I trailed off.

"What's up, Olympia?" she asked, turning towards me.

"When are you…leaving for Rivendell?" I asked, fidgeting slightly. Kate sighed.

"I don't know; probably within the next week or so. You seem pretty settled in. But I know you don't want me to go. I understand, but I really want to see it before Lord Elrond leaves for Valinor. I don't know…I just feel like it's where I'm supposed to be. I'll come and visit you for sure, but Rivendell's where I want to go." Kate replied.

"I get it, Kate. And I want you to be able to do that…But I'll miss you. You've always been there for me when I needed you. I don't know what I'm going to do without you, but I don't want to hold you back either. No…You should go to Rivendell if you want to." I told her. Kate looked sharply at me.

"Why would you hold me back?" she asked.

"Because I'm your little sister and I know you worry yourself sick over me. You always have, Kate; it's what you do. But I'll be fine. You go. Just come back every once in a while to see me and Natalie on this side of the Misty Mountains, okay?" I replied. Kate hugged me.

"I know you'll be okay, sis. And I'll visit whenever I can. And I'll drag Francesca with me too! And we'll get together on…Hmm. We should make a day where we all get together every year." Kate stated.

"Thanksgiving." I suggested immediately. Kate smiled brightly.

"Yeah. That'll work. But it'll have to be a set day, not like it used to be at home…." Kate trailed off, thinking.

"November 28th." The two of us said in unison. November 28th was our parents' anniversary, and it was usually somewhere around Thanksgiving.

"I love you, sis." I whispered.

"Love you too, Olympia." Kate replied.

"We're starting this Thanksgiving tradition this year, right?" I asked. Kate laughed.

"Definitely. I'll write to Francesca about it when I get to Rivendell." Kate told me.

"I'm writing to Francesca too! Do you think you could take my letter to her too when you go? Where are we having this thing anyway?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'll take your letter. I don't know! We'll have to ask in the letters. Come on, we should get some rest. It's late." Kate stated.

I nodded and Kate pulled me up off the bench we'd been sitting on. We headed back to our room. Kate changed into pajamas when we got there and I plopped down at the desk again, adding to the letter I'd written earlier.

_P.S. We're all getting together this year on November 28__th__. It's going to be a thing now; our new day for Thanksgiving. Where do we want to have it this year? _

*Natalie's POV*

I'd finally gotten a response back from Gimli. The messenger we sent out nearly two weeks ago had finally come back, giving me the letter response from Gimli.

_Dear Natalie, _

_ It's good to hear from you lass! So Aragorn's made you Chief Advisor eh? Good! You'll be a fine advisor, Natalie. Don't ever let anyone say otherwise, I don't care who they are. _

_ In response to your question about helping the rebuilding effort at Minas Tirith; of course we'll send aid! We shall send some of our finest smiths, stonemasons and other crafters as soon as they can be readied. I may even make the trip myself! _

_ How have you been lass? Write back to me as soon as you get this. _

_Sincerely, _

_Gimli son of Gloin_

I grinned to myself as I read the letter. _Alright! Let's get this show on the road! _I thought, getting up and rushing out of my rooms. Still clutching the letter, I ran towards the Council room. Someone was bound to be there; whether it was Faramir, Mynnyn, Caruryn or Aragorn.

Once there, I flung open the doors to the council room and walked in. Faramir and Caruryn, the advisor with the red hair and green eyes, were sitting at the table pouring over some maps.

"Good afternoon, gents." I stated, walking to the table.

"Good afternoon Lady Natalie." Caruryn replied. Faramir raised an eyebrow at me.

"You seem to be in a particularly good mood, Lady Natalie. May I ask what the occasion for such a mood is?" Faramir asked.

"First off…How many times do I have to tell you people that just calling me Natalie is fine?! Second; I'm in a good mood at the moment because I finally got a response from Gimli!" I answered.

"What does he say? Will the dwarves send aid to rebuild the city?" Caruryn asked, suddenly very curious.

"What do you think?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well then! We must tell the king at once!" Faramir replied, once he finished chuckling and rolling his eyes at me.

"Then what are we waiting for?" I asked. Caruryn tried not to laugh, failing miserably.

Faramir got up from his chair and motioned for Caruryn and me to follow him. We rushed after him and Faramir led us to the Great Hall, where Aragorn's throne was located. When we got there, we found Aragorn and Seobryn (Jackass Extraordinaire, as I'd begun calling him) whisper-yelling at each other.

Being on the other side of the hall, none of the three of us could make out what was being said. The conversation ended soon after we got there and Seobryn the Jackass Extraordinaire stormed off, glaring at me as he did so. _What the hell was that about? _I wondered.

"King Elessar, we come with good news." Caruryn stated as we approached Aragorn. Aragorn shook his head slightly looked curiously at us.

"What news do you bring, my friends?" Aragorn asked.

"I got word from Gimli, King Elessar. He says he will send smiths and stonemasons to help rebuild the city." I stated, mentally making a face. It was really weird, calling Aragorn anything but Aragorn. I'd known him by that name for a year or so and it felt strange to call him King Elessar in front of the rest of the court.

"This is excellent news! When will he come?" Aragorn smiled brightly.

"He says, and I quote, "As soon as they can be readied." He also says he may come with them. But knowing Gimli that means he's coming along. So we can probably expect him too." I replied. Aragorn laughed.

"At any rate, it takes a good deal of time to get to Gondor from Erebor. They should not arrive for some weeks yet." Aragorn mused.

We talked a while about where the dwarves would stay when they got here, what they would do in regards to building walls and whatnot. After most of the administrative details were settled, Faramir, Caruryn and I were dismissed. Faramir and Caruryn left, but I hung back.

"Something is troubling you, my friend." Aragorn observed.

"What were you arguing with Seobryn about when Faramir, Caruryn and I got here?" I asked, getting right to the point. Aragorn sighed.

"Seobryn was Lord Denethor's Chief Advisor when he was Steward. He is not at all pleased that I have given the position to another. He is even less pleased that I have given the position to you. It is a thing unheard of; giving such an important administrative position as Chief Advisor to a woman." Aragorn started.

I nodded, biting my lip and clenching my hands into fists. _Scheming, sexist son of a bitch! _I mentally cursed Seobryn.

"However, I have faith in your abilities, Natalie. I can think of no one I would rather have in the court as my most trusted advisor." Aragorn told me.

"Thanks. Really, thank you Aragorn." I replied, smiling. Aragorn smiled back.

"Do not allow his insults to affect you, my friend. It is what he wants." Aragorn stated.

"I know…" I replied. "…But he's just such a pain in the ass!" I added when Aragorn raised an eyebrow at me. Aragorn laughed.

I went back to my rooms a while later. It was almost dinner time, but I didn't really care. I wasn't all that hungry. I sat down at my desk with a quill and some paper. I felt like writing to Cellyn and Francesca.

**Author's Note: Ugh! Sorry guys! This took a while for a couple of reasons. I had a major case of writer's block for a while and I've had a ridiculous amount of school related things to do. AP European History is a pain in the ass and marching band (even though I LOVE it!) is time-consuming. So…What are you all doing for Halloween (if you celebrate it)? I'm being Thor!...Yeah. Oh, and I really want to get more into writing Silmarillion stuff! If any of you know what I'm talking about and have some ideas/prompts for me and would be willing to PM me about it, I'd gladly consider the ideas! I've seriously got nothing! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	11. Chapter 11

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything else that I reference! Natalie and Francesca own themselves respectively! I only own myself and my OCs! **

Chapter Eleven *Note: Elvish conversations are in _italics_*

Olympia's POV

The few days were spent getting ready for Kate's departure from Mirkwood. We found packs for her to put all her clothes and stuff in, loads of lembas were made for her to take with her, and a few other elves were chosen as guides to go along. I helped her pack and plan as much as I could, trying not to be sad about the fact that she was leaving.

The day that had been set for their journey to start came all too soon, in my opinion. Kate and the three other elves going with her stood near their horses on the far side of the bridge. King Thranduil, Tawarthion, Veryan, Legolas and I had come to see them off.

"_Na lû e-govaned vîn. Namarië._" (Until next we meet. Farewell.) King Thranduil stated. Kate nodded and smiled, replying with something along those lines.

"Good-bye Kate." I whispered, pulling Kate into a hug.

"It's okay Olympia. It's not good-bye forever. I'll come visit whenever I can." My sister whispered back to me.

"_Gwestog?_" (Do you promise?)I asked. Kate pulled away from the hug and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes. I promise." She said, smiling slightly. I nodded.

"I love you, Kate." I told her.

"I love you too." She replied.

Kate then turned and got on her horse. She and those guiding her there then turned and headed down the path into the forest. Kate looked back once and gave me a bright smile. I half-heartedly returned the smile and waved to her. Legolas came to stand next to me and put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a side-hug. I smiled a little more. We watched the group until I couldn't see my sister anymore.

"Do not despair, my love. We will see Kate again." Legolas told me.

"I know. But I've always had Kate with me. She's always been there and it's weird to imagine things without her." I stated.

"You will miss her. I understand." Legolas replied, hugging me a little closer.

"How do you always know what to say?" I muttered. Legolas chuckled.

"I love you, Olympia." He whispered to me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his torso and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I love you too." I told him. Legolas kissed the top of my head.

*Francesca's POV*

Rosie and I sat together on a picnic blanket on one of the many hills of the Shire. Rosie didn't have to work at the Green Dragon until later and we'd decided to hang out. So, Frodo had helped me pack a lunch and Rosie and I headed out. Sam was busy gardening and Merry and Pippin were doing god-only-knows what, so it was just Rosie and I.

"Are you enjoying the Shire Miss Francesca?" Rosie asked suddenly.

"Yeah. It's peaceful and there's a laid-back sense around the place that I don't think I've felt before. It feels weird. I'm not used to waking up and having the sun be up already. I used to have to wake up ridiculously early for school. Or work, depending on the day. It's weird, not having to run around like a chicken without a head; not really having anything to do and actually having time to draw, eat and sleep." I mused; leaning back against the tree trunk we were sitting against and staring up at the sky.

"You did not even have time to eat and sleep properly? It sounds as though you were dreadfully busy in your…world." Rosie commented. I laughed.

"I might have been exaggerating a little. But I was really busy. With school, work and artwork I didn't have a hell of a lot of time for friends….or sleep. Sometimes, I think I functioned on adrenaline and willpower." I elaborated. _And copious amounts of caffeine. _I added mentally, remembering my high school days; when Mountain Dew was my main source of energy on certain days.

"That sounds awful." Rosie said decidedly. I shrugged.

"Sometimes it was. But I had a blast in high school. Kate, Olympia and Natalie are great friends. We've been through a lot of crap together. You should meet them someday. They'd love you." I stated.

"I'd be honored to meet friends you speak so highly of. What are they like, if you don't mind my asking?" Rosie responded. I smiled.

"They're great. They're all really cool and funny and we talk about things like this all the time. We're very close." I stated, not entirely sure how to describe my relationship with my friends.

"It sounds like they are good friends of yours." Rosie nodded.

"Also, Kate and Olympia are elves." I stated, smirking and trying not to laugh when Rosie's eyes went wide.

"Elves?" she echoed in disbelief.

"Yes. Elves!" I exclaimed, losing control and laughing. Rosie smacked my arm lightly.

"I've never met an elf before. Are the tales true?" Rosie asked curiously.

"I wouldn't know. My friends aren't normal elves." I joked. Rosie chuckled. "What are the stories?" I asked.

"Bilbo used to tell tales of the Fair Folk to the young hobbit lads and lasses quite often. He told us of the beautiful elf city of Rivendell and how kind and fair the elves are." Rosie explained. I nodded.

"Rivendell's an amazing place. And most elves are like that. Some of them are cheerful and prone to joking…" I stated. _Read: Glorfindel. _I thought. "Others are more…regal, I'll say, for lack of a better word. They're all really nice. Even Erestor, who's kind of grumpy sometimes." I told Rosie, remembering the trip from Gondor to Rivendell with Glorfindel ,Erestor, Lord Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir.

Rosie soon asked me to recount the events of that trip. I laughed and told her about the random wrestling match between Pippin and Elrohir, and how Merry had gotten dragged into it. She laughed and rolled her eyes slightly when I told her I'd jumped on Merry just for the hell of it.

"What _is _a high five?" she asked when I finished. I smirked.

"It's a gesture between friends where I'm from. We use it to celebrate when we win something or when we pass each other in the hallway." I explained, taking Rosie's wrist and touching our hands together. Rosie nodded.

"So…now it's your turn. Tell me about what your childhood in the Shire was like." I stated, leaning against the tree trunk once more.

Rosie and I spent the rest of the afternoon trading stories and laughing. _Yeah, I can see us as good friends. I can't wait until Kate and Olympia come visit. Lobelia Sackville-Baggins might just have a coronary, what with elves popping up randomly to see Frodo and his friends. _I thought.

I grinned at the mental image. I'd had the misfortune to meet Lobelia Sackville-Baggins soon after we came back to the Shire. She was a grumpy old hobbit woman, somehow related to Frodo, who was entirely displeased with his sudden reappearance after a little over a year. Frodo had explained to me that the Sackville-Bagginses resented Bilbo for living so long, seeing as they'd wanted to inherit Bag End when he died. Evidently, when Frodo left, they thought he was gone for good and were going to start moving into Bag End.

I shook my head to shoo those thoughts away, and Rosie and I packed up our picnic and headed back into town. Rosie's shift at the Green Dragon was supposed to start soon, and I had a date with my new sketchbook. I really did not want to be there when Merry and Pippin were kicked out for being overly drunk…Again. 

*Kate's POV*

A few days passed before my guides and I were through the forest. After that I saw a stretch of barren land before the mountains, which already seemed to loom over us. We talked a lot, though mostly the three of them, Arbellason, Rincavornon, and Suiadan, tried to teach me more elvish. For the most part it worked; I could hold a conversation, in any case.

"_What path are we to take through the mountains?_" Suiadan asked, looking at the mountains.

"_Summer lasts yet. There is not much snow on the mountains. We shall take the High Pass. It is quicker than travelling south to the Gap of Rohan." _Rincavornon replied.

I nodded to myself. _I wonder what Rivendell's going to be like. Reading about it and seeing it in person are completely different so I'm not quite sure what to expect. Will it look like it did in the movies, only more amazing? _I wondered excitedly.

A few days later found the three of us setting up camp in the mountains. It was cold, that much I could tell, but it didn't affect me. _Right…Elves aren't as affect by extreme temperatures as humans are. _I remembered._ How did I forget about that? _I asked myself.

I sat on top of my blankets and looked around. The scenery was incredible, and I couldn't help but remember being here with the Fellowship. I laughed out loud as I remembered the snowball fight that had somehow become one of the first stories we told about our 'adventure'. Arbellason, Suiadan, and Rincavornon all looked at me like they were worried for my mental health.

"_May I ask what is so amusing, my lady?" _Suiadan asked.

"It's nothing…Just something I remembered from when the Fellowship passed through here. It wasn't all doom and gloom; we managed to have _some _fun." I replied. Arbellason raised an eyebrow.

"May I ask what happened that would prompt such a reaction from the mere memory?" he asked, stumbling over the English a little.

"We had an all-out snowball fight." I stated simply. At this, Suiadan raised his eyebrows and Rincavornon tried not to laugh.

"Would you mind telling this tale in its entirety? It sounds quite interesting." Rincavornon asked.

"Not at all. Would you believe me if I told you it was my sister Olympia and Francesca who started it?" I asked.

"Was it now?" Arbellason asked, surprised.

"Yes, it was. Believe me when I say she has a mischievous side. It doesn't come out often, but it is present. But, we're getting off topic…" I replied.

My three elven companions got quite a kick out of the snowball fight story. We spent the rest of the night swapping all sorts of tales from past adventures. I learned that all three of them were first cousins and as a result there were lots of stories to be told. It almost made me forget about how much I missed my sister. Almost. I fell asleep soon after we ate dinner.

**Author's Note: Gah! Sorry I took so long, everyone! I've got a ton of crap to do for school and while I'd honestly rather be writing for this, AP essays and English reading take priority. So please enjoy this (short) chapter while I get my shit together. Okay? READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


	12. Chapter 12

Wherever We Are

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything else that I reference! Natalie and Francesca own themselves respectively! I only own myself and my OCs. **

Chapter Twelve *Note: Elvish is in _italics_*

Kate's POV

It only took about half of the next day for Arbellason, Rincavornon, Suiadan and I to get down the other side of the mountains. Once we reached the bottom, there were wide grassy plains and I could see an expanse of forest in the distance. Rincavornon led the way and we soon found the river Bruinen and began to follow it southwest from where we came down from the mountains.

"_If we hold to this course, we shall reach Imladris before midday tomorrow." _Arbellason commented. I nodded in understanding. _We're almost there. _I thought, smiling to myself.

A while later Braylla began to fidget and attempt to pick up the pace. I laughed out loud. Suiadan looked at me weird. I smirked and slowed Braylla down a bit so I was riding next to Suiadan.

"_Braylla wants to run. I would not blame her. She is used to the wide, open plains of Rohan._" I explained.

Suiadan laughed, then said something in rapid elvish to Rincavornon and Arbellason that I couldn't quite catch. For a moment, we all looked at each other. Then Suiadan urged his horse into a gallop. _Oh it's on. _I thought, urging Braylla forward.

Braylla needed no further encouragement and took off across the plains. I laughed and the wind blew my hair back (and into a tangled mess). Our impromptu race continued for a while, but eventually Braylla leapt over a runoff stream from the Bruinen and we pulled ahead of the others. I slowed her to a stop just after the jump and the others caught up a few seconds later.

"Was there any particular reason for that or were we all just tired of going so slow?" I asked, laughing slightly.

"Your horse was the one who wished to run. I merely made a…game, if you will, of it." Suiadan replied.

"In any case, we have less ground to cover tomorrow and may reach Imladris late tonight if we do not stop." Rincavornon commented, reaching over and pushing Suiadan lightly.

"Lady Kate, would you mind terribly if I asked more about the world you and your sister hail from?" Arbellason asked a while later.

"Not really. It's vastly different from this one. I feel like everything here is so much…more earthly; cleaner. The food is much better because there are none of the chemicals or preservatives that were in the food in my world. The air seems cleaner because there's no pollution from machinery." I started thinking aloud after that; rattling off all the differences I'd noticed between my world and the one I was quite literally dumped into.

"If you do not mind my asking…is Prince Legolas courting your sister, Lady Olympia?" Suiadan's voice brought me back to reality. I stifled a laugh.

"Don't tell either of them I said this…but yes. Technically speaking they _are…_courting, as you say." I replied. Suiadan's eyes widened and he smirked mischievously. _What's he thinking? _I wondered suspiciously.

"Do you suppose Prince Legolas will ask her to marry him?" Suiadan asked.

Rincavornon looked incredulously at him, as if to say 'Dude, what the hell?' Arbellason chuckled and shook his head at the antics of his younger cousins. I'd learned that Arbellason was the oldest of this particular group of cousins and was often pegged as the most mature.

"It's only a matter of time before he does." I replied. _Though I'd like to know what's taking him so long…Does he honestly think Olympia's going to say no? _I thought.

~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~meep~~~~~

We ended up deciding not to stop for the night. A little while after sunset, another random sprint broke out and that carried us into the forest and to a bridge that led into Rivendell. As we crossed the bridge, I looked up at the city. My eyes widened and I smiled brightly. The whole city was made of white marble and looked as though it had been partially built into the side of the valley. It almost glowed in the moonlight and it was beautiful. I can only remember thinking something along the lines of '_The movie did this no justice.' _

We crossed the bridge and found Lord Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir waiting for us in a small courtyard of sorts. _How did they know we were coming? …Right, foresight. That was definitely a 'Could have had a V8!' moment. _I thought.

"_Le nathlam hí. __Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn." _(We welcome you here. A star shines on the hour of our meeting.) Lord Elrond greeted.

"_Hannon le." _(Thank you) I replied. Elladan and Elrohir both raised their eyebrows and Lord Elrond smiled.

Within an hour, elves had come to take care of our horses, we'd all dumped our stuff into guest rooms, showered changed, and Lord Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir were leading us to the Hall of Fire. Apparently, dinner was still going on. The three elves who had come to Rivendell with me were all talking to Lord Elrond. I walked with Elladan and Elrohir.

"It is good to see you again, Kate. How do you fare?" Elladan asked. I smiled inwardly at the mini-victory of getting someone to _not _call me 'Lady'.

"I've been pretty good. Olympia's all settled in Mirkwood…I miss her already. We've been together as far back as I can remember and suddenly she's not in my life." I mused. Elladan and Elrohir both nodded. _…Way to go Kate! You brought up the topic of absent loved ones with Elladan and Elrohir! Bravo! _I thought suddenly, resisting the urge to face-palm.

"Olympia will be well. After all, she _is _with Legolas." Elladan stated, smirking, after a(n entirely too long) silence.

"I guess." I replied.

"When do you suppose he will ask Olympia to marry him?" Elrohir asked, also smirking. I laughed out loud.

"Isn't that the million-dollar question?" I quipped. Both of them turned and raised an eyebrow at me.

"What do you mean by that, Kate?" Elrohir asked.

"I mean that _everyone _seems to want the answer to that question. Obviously their getting married is inevitable, but everyone seems to want to know when. The best possible answer I can give is soon." I replied.

"Ah. I see." Elladan responded.

"So how have you two been since I last saw you?" I asked.

"We have been well enough. The end of the war is being celebrated quite thoroughly here in Imladris. We are headed to one such celebration." Elrohir told me. I smiled.

"Sounds fun." I commented.

Elladan and Elrohir said nothing else and we arrived at the Hall of Fire a few minutes later. My eyes widened and I felt a slight sense of déjà vu. The place was lit by a few torches on the walls, an open wall on one side with supporting arches and an enormous fireplace at the far end. There were tables set up in a sort of crescent shape to leave room for the dance floor and the pavilion for the minstrels was set back a bit from the last tables.

"Good evening, Kate!" Glorfindel called from one of the nearby tables.

"Good evening, Glorfindel." I responded. In Gondor, we'd come to a mutual agreement; he wouldn't call me 'Lady Kate' if and only if I didn't call him 'Lord Glorfindel'. I'd only actually done it once or twice in an effort not to feel awkward.

"While I am glad to see you, I was unaware you would be arriving in Imladris so soon. Were you not helping your sister settle into Mirkwood?" Glorfindel commented.

"I was. She seemed pretty settled in after a week or two, but I stayed a little longer because I was a little reluctant to leave her…and she was a bit reluctant to see me go." I replied.

"Very well. Welcome to Imladris!" Glorfindel exclaimed, smiling. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "I am actually very glad you have arrived. Perhaps now Erestor can find something to celebrate." Glorfindel added.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Erestor is not very fond of large celebrations such as this." Elladan clarified.

"Yes. He has made a habit of sitting alone and looking quite peeved at the whole business." Glorfindel explained.

"And Glorfindel has made a habit of attempting to get him to celebrate." Elrohir added. I laughed a little.

"I'm not entirely sure how much I'll be able to help out with that…But I can try!" I replied.

"Excellent! Let us begin!" Glorfindel responded, taking my arm and leading me over to an out-of-the-way table where Erestor was sitting with a (very) peeved look on his face.

"What? Now?" I asked, giving Glorfindel an incredulous look.

"Good evening, Erestor!" Glorfindel greeted cheerfully.

"Good evening, Glorfindel." Erestor replied.

"Hello again, Erestor. What's got you in such a foul mood?" I asked as Glorfindel and I sat down. Erestor smiled slightly.

"Good evening, Lady Kate. I am glad to see you again. How have you been faring?" Erestor replied.

"Well enough. How have you been?" I asked.

"And stop avoiding the initial question. What is the reason for such a foul mood when there is much more reason to celebrate? The long-fought War of the Ring is finally concluded and we are surrounded by good friends. What reason could there _possibly_ be for foul-tempered-ness?" Glorfindel added. Erestor rolled his eyes.

"I have been well, thank you, Lady Kate. As for the latter questions…You, Glorfindel should know, better than anyone else I imagine, that I am not very fond of large elaborate celebrations…And I am not in a _foul _mood." Erestor answered. Glorfindel narrowed his bright blue eyes as if to say 'Yes you are.'

The three of us talked for a while. I noticed that after a while, Elladan and Elrohir had gotten up and started dancing. I nudged Glorfindel, pointed them out, and smiled. Glorfindel grinned broadly. Suddenly, I heard someone's foot tapping lightly in time to the music.

"Glorfindel, is that you? It's not me." I asked.

"No. I am not the one tapping my foot." Glorfindel replied slowly.

Both of us turned to Erestor. It turned out to be him tapping his foot. He was also bobbing his head slightly and mouthing the words to the song. Glorfindel and I then turned to each other and grinned.

Together, we hauled Erestor up and dragged him out to the dance floor. Glorfindel then pushed him lightly into me and proceeded to haul ass over to where Lord Elrond was shaking his head, looking exasperated. Erestor and I both glared at Glorfindel for a moment.

"Do you know the steps to this dance Lady Kate?" Erestor asked.

"Yeah. King Thranduil had an enormous party when we got back to Mirkwood. I learned how to dance." I answered.

"That does not surprise me in the least." Erestor commented, shaking his head and chuckling.

Once the dance was over, Erestor went to go give Glorfindel the verbal bitch-slapping of a lifetime and I headed over to a table near the minstrels' pavilion. At the moment, the brown haired elf-woman who had been singing left the pavilion.

An elf with brown eyes and dark brown hair took her place; carrying a guitar-like instrument…I'm pretty sure it's called a lute. I furrowed my eyebrows. This elf looked familiar. I could have sworn I'd seen him somewhere before, yet I couldn't place a name. It irked me a bit.

The dark-haired elf played his lute and occasionally sang for most of the night. He was a really good musician, and I honestly couldn't help but wonder if or how a lute was similar to the acoustic guitar I'd learned to play when I was younger. After a while, I'm guessing he caught me staring and looked in my direction. I smiled awkwardly and blushed a bit. The dark-haired elf smiled back before continuing to play.

_What the hell was that? _I wondered.

**Author's Note: Ta-da! I was a bit anxious for Kate to get to Rivendell…Now the fun stuff starts again! Bye the way…yeah, Lindir sighting. I couldn't help this last scene; no matter how cheesy it seemed in my head! Also, I seem to love writing Glorfindel and Erestor getting on each other's nerves. But whatever, I had fun. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! **


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